Spring's Gift
by FanficzGrl
Summary: 13TH CHAPTER UP! Shinobu has returned, but she's become an entirely different person! AWWW what has happened to poor Shinobu after her little "break-up" with Keitaro! and what have Naru and Motoko got to say about this! Keitaro!EXPLAIN URSELF! R&R plz!
1. The Ring

Spring's Gift  
  
It's spring once again for the residents of Hinata Sou. Cherry blossoms on towering trees were blooming and petals of the pale flower were drifting leisurely down onto the ground; pink winter. Under a bridge, the river water beneath it shimmered against the warm glow of the morning sun. A pair of white doves was sitting happily on a rugged branch of a cherry blossom tree, singing merrily together with one singing the melody while the other summed in with the harmony. Together, they wake early Tokyo up with their chirpy song of love and at the same time, a love song was about to compose itself back at Hinata Inn as well.  
  
"Naru, wake up! You're going to be late for the study session! It's 8:30 already!" hollered Motoko, flying out from about the door, laying foot into Naru's room. She still had her sword carried with her from early practice.  
  
"Huh.? What did you just say? I'm too chubby to be in fashion?" questioned Naru in a mumbled painful voice from having to be woken up from her sweet dreams of.  
  
"NO! Naru! You're going to be late for your STUDY SESSION!!!" the angry Motoko yelled in annoyance while restraining the temptation to pull out her blade.  
  
"Study session?" said Naru weakly, repeating the two stressed words that Motoko had just blurted out. "Oh! Right, sorry Motoko-chan, thanks for waking me up! I was just too tired from staying up until 3 in the morning trying to cram the last math equation into my head to realize that you've been trying to wake me up for so long."  
  
"You've been dreaming haven't you?" teased Motoko, ignoring Naru's excuse.  
  
"Umm.well.yea," admitted Naru, blushing scarlet. "I'm going to get ready now, thank you Motoko-chan for waking me up again.  
  
Motoko gave a weak smile acknowledging the appreciation and left the room. Right after Motoko left the room and that Naru was just about to change out of her pajamas and into her new dress with the sunflowers, Shinobu poked in wearing an apron, blushing to realize that she had just interfered with Naru's changing.  
  
"Oh I'm so sorry Naru-san! I didn't mean for my arrival to become an intervention, I'm very sorry! I was just coming to tell you that breakfast is already served at the tables," Shinobu blurted in haste.  
  
Naru, seeing Shinobu in such an uncomfortable state, flushing with embarrassment, she tried to console her, "It's okay Shinobu-chan, why don't you help run an errand for me and see if Keitaro is up yet?"  
  
"Yes, I shall do that!" Shinobu answered with a screech and raced hurriedly out of Naru's room.  
  
Meanwhile, Keitaro was still dozing off into space, dreaming of Naru.  
  
"Will you marry me?" asked Keitaro with his eyes wet with hope.  
  
Naru stared at him sweetly and replied, "Of course Keitaro, I love you more than anyone living on this planet right now, and further more, I love you even more than I love myself. You are the only one whom I will ever marry."  
  
It was a Saturday morning with lovebirds chirping and he could hear his friends' applause and congratulations. He was actually marrying Naru in front of everybody! He felt the glory of the sun on him and the tug of Naru's arm, crossed tight against his. "It must be real," he thought. (Only did he not know that it was Shinobu who was trying to shake him up from asleep).  
  
"Keitaro-kun, wake up!" Shinobu urged with a gentle shove, "Breakfast is served! Naru is waiting!"  
  
"Naru!" Keitaro wailed, grabbing hold onto Shinobu's arm and tugging it against his face, caressing it over his cheeks, wet with drool.  
  
Shinobu blushed unknowingly, unable to decide whether she should allow Keitaro to continue holding her hands or to yank them away. Momentarily, she had been almost enjoying that moment up until the point when Naru popped her head into Keitaro's room to check on him.  
  
"Keitaro!!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" exclaimed Naru in disbelief. She raged up in anger and pulled Shinobu behind her. "How dare you treat my friends like that?" Naru waved her right hand back as she builds up on momentum and when enough force was harnessed, she swung her hand with so much force that tension built up across the center of her palms. A loud sudden cry of pain echoed through Hinata Su following the thunderous smacking-across-the-face sound. Stuck by the sinking pain of the strong slap, produced by Naru, Keitaro all of a sudden jumped right out of his covers.  
  
"Naru?!" exclaimed Keitaro, still confused, for he had not known what had just happened prior to the slap, "Why did you do that for?"  
  
"For being an idiot!" Naru shot back with fury, and she rushed out of the door.  
  
Keitaro starred after the door where Naru had just left through mindlessly and after the events were carefully sort out through his mind, he turned to Shinobu and asked, "What has just happened?"  
  
Shinobu's eyes sparkled with tears and hastily she muttered "I'm sorry Keitaro, I'm so, so sorry!" and then left.  
  
Keitaro sat on his covers, looking disordered, and still wondering why the two girls had reacted in such an outraged way. He still had a swollen red handprint on his face.  
  
Naru rushed down to the breakfast table, grabbed a steamed bun, and quickly stuffed it in her mouth to prevent the bun from handicapping one of her free hands. With her left hand, she reached for one of the long brown cloaks that hanged down from one of the coat hangers and with her right hand she positioned to grab for her books. Kitsune, leisurely slouching on the sofa and reading the daily Tokyo Press, turned her head in Naru's direction and queried, "Hey girl, what's the big rush?"  
  
"Oh I'm late for my study session with Seta," explained Naru, "I have to hurry before he leaves. Oh yeah, and by the way, can you help me tell the others that I might not be back for dinner?" She added that just to rouse Keitaro's curiosity.  
  
"Sure Naru, yeah.. em.Have fun with your study session with.. err.Seta!" Kitsune called after, trying to hide her emotions for Seta for she had always been secretly admiring him.  
  
In the instant of a few seconds just after Naru's departure, Keitaro hopped across the living room, still trying to put on his socks, to look for Naru and plea for her forgiveness for whatever he may have done.  
  
"Where's Naru?" he directed the question at Kitsune who had continued to read her newspaper after Naru left.  
  
"She left for a date with Seta," Kitsune teased as she added in more spice to pique Keitaro's interests, "And she said that she won't come back for dinner too!"  
  
"What!" screamed Keitaro with shock, jumping off his toes as if an electric charge had just past through his body. "A date?! Why is she going on a date?! And with Seta?!"  
  
"Chill, Keitaro," soothed Kitsune, enjoying the full attention and amused by Keitaro's overreaction. "They're just going to study together," said Kitsune with her eyes closed in an it's-not-really-that-big-of-a-deal tone of voice. As she opened her eyes again, Keitaro was nowhere to be found.  
  
The beginning of spring also meant the beginning of another school semester for many young teenagers. This was apparent by the number of young heads that filled the available spots on limited wooden benches; one was either burying their nose in a book or flipping through a catalogue of some sort. Some even had a towering mountain of books stacked beside them. Out of the sea of young teenagers was a defect towards the entire picture as a whole. Something destroyed the unison among the crowd of one similarity: youth. It was like picking the tomato among the stack of carrots: easy by first sight. A man, seemingly in his late 20s, was sitting peacefully on one of the less crowded benches, peering over an indigestible book, thick in volume. He had on a light brown jacket and was dressed properly (which distinguished him from the rest who were mostly in sneakers and t-shirts). He had a neat tie tucked under a wooly brown sweater and was wearing pants that hanged STRAIGHTLY down to his feet (most teenagers were wearing ruffled jeans). A pair of glasses tipped over his nose as his eyes rolled along the lines in his book.  
  
"Seta!" called out Naru as she tries to catch her breath after racing to catch up with any missed time.  
  
The man turned to the voice's direction and gave a slight smile at the sight of his friend rushing up to him.  
  
"Naru, it's been long since the last time we met!" greeted Seta with the utmost eagerness spread across his face.  
  
"Yeah," Naru agreed, "How's it been for you since our last departure?"  
  
"It was okay, but I like studying here more," admitted Seta after a brief instant of thinking.  
  
"That's nice," Naru complimented, still looking driven out by that morning's awkward incident. For some reason (Some reason.), she didn't even understand herself, she had reacted much highly than she usually would. Her thoughts were soon disturbed when Seta next spoke.  
  
"So, I hear you need some help on reviewing page forty-seven in your math textbook right? So lets get to it!" Seta bellowed.  
  
"Yeah.thanks for your time Seta"  
  
"No problem, anything for my favorite girl."  
  
Keitaro raced through the streets, heading towards Naru's usually studying place: the public library. Some people on the streets stared at him as if he was some crazy lunatic racing to nowhere while others grabbed their purses away from him, as he raced past, thinking he's a thief. And there were always the ones who would look behind him to see if there were any police chasing him after, hoping to retrieve a handsome reward if they caught the culprit. Little kids on the streets would yell out "Hey mommy! I want to race too" and their mothers would quickly hush them up with a "If you don't study more, then you will become a lunatic like him/her" speech. That usually does the job since little kids don't want to question more when Homework is added into their conversations.  
  
"Hey mommy! This boy has different colored socks! I want them too!" a little kid on the street cried out. Keitaro stared down at his socks and returned a quick glance at the little kid, which kind of startled him a bit. Taken aback, the little boy hid behind his mother's skirt.  
  
Keitaro felt embarrassed, but he was desperate to meet with Naru and apologize, in hope of maintaining their "relationship". Hopefully nothing has altered between them.  
  
"I don't get this equation," said Naru, scrunching her eyebrows with confusion.  
  
"Oh, this one's not that difficult actually. Would you pass me the calculator?" Seta asked as he fingered for the calculator across from Naru.  
  
"Here," Naru said as she handed the calculator to Seta with her hands open.  
  
Just when Seta grabbed the calculator out of Naru's hands, he noticed that it was swollen and red.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, staring at Naru's hands.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing serious," replied Naru shamefully, turning away from him.  
  
Seta grabbed hold of her hands and stared into her blue eyes meaningfully as if he was really worried.  
  
"What happened?" Seta demanded almost like an order.  
  
At that same instant, Keitaro had just arrived in time to see the pretty sight of Seta holding Naru's hands. He didn't dare to move upfront. He felt awkward, he felt scared, he felt angry, but he didn't know what to do. He hid behind one of the nearby trees; just close enough to keep him well out of sight and able to see, but unable to hear their conversation. Keitaro bit his lips as he strained to eavesdrop in their dialogue.  
  
Naru finally gave up to Seta's persistence, seeing there's no way out but to tell the truth, and quietly admitted, "It was Keitaro."  
  
"Keitaro?!" Seta spitted with disgust, "Did he beat you?"  
  
"Oh no, NO! You've mistaken!" Naru quickly said, knowing the wrong wording of her words have caused some red misunderstanding. "What I was intending to say is that my hands are swollen because of my slapping him today."  
  
"Oh," Seta answered stupidly. The muscles from his puffed chest, angled arms and clutched fists all relaxed after those words. He had almost looked like a hero just a while ago, but now he was back to being the normal Seta, the same old professor, Seta. . "Why did you punch him?" he asked lastly, unsure of what else to say next.  
  
"I don't know," sighed Naru, "I really don't know. I have no idea why I had reacted so excitedly today. He was just holding Shibobu-chan's hand and I was already blowing my tops!"  
  
"Holding your hands?!" exclaimed Seta in disbelief, "Well I don't blame you for giving him a big smacking!" Seta had once again looked strong and ready to fight.  
  
"But he was asleep when he was holding her hands," grunted Naru, "It seems if though my emotions today are those of a teen's in the beginning of his or her adolescence period. So unpredictable, and scary too!"  
  
"It's alright," Seta consoled as he patted Naru on her back. He had once again returned back to the old Seta state.  
  
"What?!" Keitaro thought as he hastily covered his mouth with his hands before the words blurted out. "How could that buffoon lay his dirty hands on MY girlfriend?!"  
  
Keitaro felt the rage to run up to Seta and give him a nice punching in the face, even though he usually tells other people that 'violence is not the solution to problems'.  
  
Unable to decide whether he wanted to go back to Hinata-sou or to dash over to Seta and punch him, Keitaro walked off aimlessly. He felt the world darkened even though the bright sun continued to shine in the warm afternoon. For some reason, Keitaro happened to conceive a heavy rain cloud just conveniently above his head only. The grass looked ugly, the doves turned to crows and the flowers withered under his eyes. Everything was not right. He walked and he walked, and unsure whether it was by chance or by force, he was driven to a stop at a jewelry shop. He peered over one of the showcase windows. The first thing that had caught his eyes was a beautiful golden diamond ring. A large heart shaped diamond was embedded in the center with a twisting pattern of smaller diamonds garnishing it on its side. It was beautiful. "It would be the perfect ring for Naru," he had thought.  
  
"That's right!" he cried aloud, "For Naru! The dream today must have been an omen for me to make a proposal to Naru! Oh why am I so stupid?! I should have known earlier! I hope I wouldn't be too late!"  
  
He quickly rushed in into the jeweler's shop and used up all the credits in his credit cards to afford the ring. It had been one expensive ring, but to Keitaro, it was worth it if it meant that he would get Naru back.  
  
"Hey it's getting late now," announced Seta for he had heard the grumbling noises coming from his stomach. Hoping to settle the dispute in his stomach he quickly suggested going to a nearby restaurant for a quick lunch.  
  
"We can continue our little study session after lunch," said Seta, "and after that we can have dinner together! My treat!"  
  
Naru forced a weak smile and the two of them quickly gathered their materials and headed for the nearest restaurant nearby.  
  
It was getting late at Hinata Sou. The sky had already blackened to the extent that the only source of light came from the half illuminated moon. Little bright stars dotted the black blanket and created constellations from every direction you looked. The weather was getting cool and all the residents of Hinata Sou were already safe and sound in bed early, all except for Keitaro and Naru. Naru had still haven't returned home yet and Keitaro was growing worried of his loved one. He wore his puffy green jacket and waited outside the doorway. He stuffed his hand into his right pocket and patted lightly against the ring case and thought about what Naru will say to him when he proposes to her. He felt nervous and scared.  
  
He waited and waited in the cold, and soon he saw a head approaching, no TWO HEADS!!! Naru was with Seta!!! The two of them were walking towards him together!!! He felt angry and nervous at the same time; his emotions confused. Naru caught sight of Keitaro and waved her hand at him.  
  
"Keitaro!" Naru called out, eager to talk to him.  
  
Keitaro blushed as he heard Naru's voice and confused of his complex emotions, he started to run away towards the back of Hinata.  
  
Naru was perplexed about why Keitaro had run away so suddenly and decided to pursue after him. Very soon, she caught up with Keitaro and took grip of his left shoulder.  
  
"Hey!" Naru shouted after Keitaro.  
  
Surprisingly, he turned to face her with eyes glimmering with hot tears. "What?" Keitaro shot back.  
  
Naru eyes met Keitaro's and knew that she had probably upset him with that morning's earlier incident. "I'm sorry, Keitaro," Naru consoled looking concerned.  
  
"It's nothing," Keitaro said with a helpless sigh, "I was just upset about something else I had on my end, that's all." He lied. That moment, the ring case fell out of his pocket.  
  
"What's this?" Naru wondered aloud as she reached down to pick up the case. She opened the wonderfully decorated ring case, which revealed a beautiful diamond ring. On the brim of the ring were the gorgeously etched letters that spelled out her name: Naru.  
  
"Wow!" Naru exclaimed, "Is this for me?"  
  
At that moment, Keitaro fell to his knees and looked up at Naru, who seemed like a goddess at that minute, and begged for her hand in marriage. "Will you marry me Naru?"  
  
Shocked by Keitaro's sudden words, she quickly answered, "Keitaro's what's wrong? Are you okay?" She had not wanted to answer his question.  
  
Keitaro looked disappointed, he had wanted Naru to jump with joy and accept his proposal, but reality never went his way.  
  
"It's not you Keitaro," explained Naru, "It's just that I'm not ready to give my hand in marriage, I still have dreams and wishes I yet need to accomplish. Besides, you and I are still both young and we still haven't been able to make it to Tokyo U. yet!  
  
Keitaro still looked disappointed, it was easy to tell that Naru had not been very convincing. He turned his head and stared up at the moon, which seemed to glow brighter than ever right then. While he was lost gazing that the moon, Naru gently pressed her lips against his cheeks. He felt her soft lips pressed tight against his cheeks and he felt warm despite the freezing temperature. He stared at her in the eyes and realized what a fool he was to think about marriage so early.  
  
"I'm sorry Naru, I didn't mean to scare you with my abrupt proposal," Keitaro apologized.  
  
"No, it's me who should be apologizing. If it hadn't been me giving you such a hard time today in the morning, then you wouldn't be thinking about marriage. It's all my fault, would you forgive me?"  
  
The two of them smiled at each other, feeling a bit stupid about apologizing to each other one after another.  
  
In my opinion, Spring was the culprit of this entire act.  
  
~~I'm sorry if this story was kind of long but I had to take some time to build up on the characters and setting.I promise the next chapter will be much shorter! Please review thank you ~~ 


	2. That Rainy Day

~~Second chapter up and ready, Enjoy!~~ And I will like to thank all those kind ones who wrote their reviews to support this fic! I know it's still not too great right now but please continue to show your support in reviews! Please read my new fic, Katana Behind the Bleak, too since I personally enjoy that one more hehe!  
  
"Shinobu!" Su called out in the torment caused by her unsatisfied stomach that's wailing with hunger. Shinobu was accustomed to Su's usual crying for food since she was ALWAYS hungry.  
  
"Coming!" Shinobu called back. It was 8:00 in the morning and Shinobu was the first person to be up and preparing the usual morning breakfast to all the residents of Hinata Sou. If it weren't for Shinobu, the youngest resident of Hinata Sou, then all of Hinata will go starving, especially Su.  
  
"What's for breakfast?" Su asked as Shinobu laid down the last plate onto the dining table.  
  
"Well, we have the usual pancakes, but this time with raspberries atop, some scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and a bowl of hot vegetable soup. You may choose from either coffee or orange juice for drink. We ran out of milk so I'll have to go get some at the supermarket later."  
  
"Mmmm.Yum! You're the best Shinobu-chan, I'll go wake everyone up for breakfast!" Su exclaimed acknowledging the wonderful breakfast Shinobu had made for them and in return, decided to do something for her in return.  
  
"You don't need to wake us and we're all up Su," Naru replied with a smile, her eyes still, from being attracted by the wonderful morning meal that greeted them!  
  
"Shinobu's the best cook in Hinata. What will we ever do without her?" Keitaro smiled handsomely at Shinobu who blushed when he said that.  
  
"Thank you Sempai, but you're just exaggerating it. You will all do very well without me."  
  
Mutsumi entered into the room and gave a long whiff of the home-welcoming aroma that drifted out of Hinata Sou, "No they're right Shinobu-can, I bet none of them can cook as well as you"  
  
Shinobu gave another blush, embarrassed of all the given attention to her cooking but that moment was soon disturbed by Su's loud voice again that awoke the awkward silence.  
  
"Come on guys! Lets eat before the food cools! Mmm."  
  
*********** That day everyone went on with his or her usual lives: Motoko practiced her sword, Kitsune, drunk on sake, continued to carry a earpiece in one of her ears and calling out a name of a horse (gambling again), and Su was on the computers. The three future Toudai students continued their study upstairs in the study room while Haruka was busy around the worktable sorting out the finance calculations. Shinobu, alone, was cleaning up after the house and was preparing for that night's dinner. It so happened that when she was trying to make dessert for the residents that she remembered that she had forgotten to buy the milk needed for that night's dessert and the next day's drinks. It was pouring hard outside, the sky had already darkened and the supermarket was very far from Hinata Sou. She did not want to bother the residents to help her acquire the milk and also, maybe because of the little commendation she had received earlier, she wanted to do the errand herself. She hurried to her room and grabbed a yellow rain jacket and an umbrella and headed straight out the door for the supermarket.  
  
*****  
  
The gray clouds above showered Shinobu with strong, striking spikes of rain. Puddles of muddy water accumulated on the streets. Shinobu rushed to the market as quick as possible, occasionally bumping into pedestrians on her way.  
  
"Gomenasai!" Shinobu would cry apologetically when realizing that she had bumped into someone without her attention.  
  
Shinobu entered into the great Supermarket where aisles of food products laid arranged neatly in organized manner. Shinobu walked hurriedly over to the milk products aisle and grabbed herself a 4-litre jug of partly skimmed milk. She rushed over to the cashier, paid the fee for the milk and left the Supermarket, feeling warm inside.  
  
******  
  
On the other hand, Keitaro and Naru had just finished studying geometry and are all up in spirit for some joyful fun.  
  
"Let's go to the park?" suggested Naru who wanted to swing on the swings at that moment.  
  
"Maybe the theatres?" asked Keitaro who wanted to be intimate with his girlfriend and sit comfortably in the comfy chairs next to her.  
  
"Keitaro, when's the last time you ever got some fresh air and exercise? Do you want to be sitting in a humid, hot room for fun-time? You're going to get amazingly fat if you don't get some motion with those blub.blubber.errrr.muscles of yours" spluttered Naru.  
  
When hearing his girlfriend called him fat, Keitaro quickly agreed to going to the parks.  
  
********  
  
"Ahhh!" it's finally stopped raining!" Naru let out a sigh of gratitude. As she turned her head to look at her boyfriend, she found herself shifted to another dimension.what the hell was Keitaro doing?  
  
Keitaro, her boyfriend, was in his old tracksuit and jogging up and down on the same spot. He had on a red, exhausted face, huffing and puffing away with each breath.  
  
"Keitaro!? What on earth are you doing?!" cried Naru in disbelief.  
  
"Well I'm training to get fit of course!" answered Keitaro out of breath.  
  
"Argh.." Naru gave out a sigh, and said, "Forget it, lets just go to the park."  
  
********  
  
At the park, the grass and the soil were still soaked by the previous rainfall. It was getting late outside and many lovers were holding hands and taking a nice strode about the park. However, Keitaro and Naru still acted among the youngest of the couples, resembling little kids. They were chasing each other around and throwing harmless punches at each other, especially Naru.  
  
"I want to swing on the swings!" Naru cried aloud.  
  
"And I'll push it!" Keitaro called out in response.  
  
The two of them raced over to the swings and played, giggling like 8-years- olds.  
  
Just then, Shinobu ran past, halting when she caught Keitaro and Naru from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head slowly back, afraid to see what she had anticipated, but her fear could not cover the truth, Naru and Keitaro were well together. They looked like a great couple. Depression rose from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head. Feeling the sadness overriding all emotions and critical thinking, she ran straight forth, not caring what obstacles were in her path. Tears poured out from her eyes and streamed down her baby face. As she ran, she dropped the heavy jug of milk on the streets...  
  
****  
  
So how was it? Please tell me how you feel about this fic and whether I should continue with it. Please review, your support really counts..and I mean count when I say count! Anyway, thanks for reading! 


	3. Shinobu's Weary Confession

Wow! I can't believe people actually want me to continue with this story...since I was losing confidence in it! Haha! Well anyways, due to popular demand, I have decided to continue! Third Chapter here we go!!!!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Third Chapter: Shinobu's Weary Csonfession  
  
For some reason, the rain had started pouring again and this time, with force even greater and more overcoming than the last. Shinobu raced across the streets. The sky was getting dark and the grey clouds fell closer to the ground. It was getting difficult to see in the dark atmosphere with the dense rainfall. The wind roared and yanked Shinobu's hat off her head and stole her umbrella in the process. At that moment, a sake bottle that was left previously littered on the ground by some uncaring person tangled her feet and tripped her. She fell onto the concrete ground hard, face down. Her hands stung to the severe bleeding of the deep scrapes. The right side of her face, which had landed onto the ground, ached with pain; fortunately no permanent scars were traumatized. Tears were beginning to accumulate behind her eyes.  
  
"No Shinobu, you mustn't cry!" Shinobu told herself as she attempted to stand up but failed when she dropped back onto the ground. For a whole ten minutes, she laid there in the middle of the streets sobbing, with a few pedestrians to and fro, staring down at her with pity. When she harnessed enough energy to raise herself from her lying position, she pushed herself up with her two strong arms, and stood firm on ground. Slowly she meandered back to Hinata Sou with rain showering her. Nothing mattered for her heart was shattered.  
  
"Shinobu-chan?! Are you alright?" Motoko cried aloud when she saw Shinobu walking weakly back to Hinata, with clothes soaked by rain, face dirtied by her fall, and hair ruffled by her irritation against the truth, which was too harsh for her acceptance. Motoko had been previously practicing her techniques on the roof, cutting leaves into a million pieces. She hurried jumped down from the roof and landed right in front of Shinobu with a light landing that looked as graceful as a feather drifting down (although she did not shifted about from right to left and vice versa).  
  
"Motoko-chan," Shinobu whispered wearily before her vision faded to a blur and then complete darkness as she passed out.  
  
"Hey what's going on?" asked Keitaro as he and Naru appeared within Motoko's sight. The duo rushed over to the fainted Shinobu to examine the severity.  
  
"It's not too serious," Naru said with hands over Shinobu's forehead, "but I think we had better get her dried off and warm. I think she's getting a fever"  
  
Motoko carried Shinobu into Hinata Sou as Keitaro and Naru followed from behind. Motoko had Shinobu situated safely in her futon after replacing the wet clothes with the dry pajamas. Suu entered into the room with a glass of personalize "eggnog "whilst Keitaro brought over a small tub of cool water with a towel.  
  
"Without Shinobu, who is going to cook dinner?" cried Suu with a stomach hollering for the satisfaction from food.  
  
Naru grumbled with annoyance and said, "Fine, I'll cook dinner for tonight, but don't complain that it looks unappetizing! Be grateful for what you have!"  
  
"I'll help slice anything," volunteered Motoko.  
  
"Go WinningStreak GO!" cried Kitsune as the tenants of Hinata Sou turned their heads at Kitsune's direction and gave her a what-the-hell-do-you- think-you're-doing stare. Kitsune had silently entered into Shinobu's room too and was carrying with her, a miniature-sized Walkman suited for traveling convenience but in this case for Kitsune's listening to horse betting races pleasure. "Fine I'll go rip the bones out of some stinky fish too if you want" said Kitsune to satisfy the tenants' displeasure.  
  
"Hey but who's going to look after Shinobu-chan though?" Keitaro spoke aloud.  
  
"You!!!" all the tenants turned their heads at Keitaro and simultaneously snapped at poor Keitaro, whose hands were still in the tub of water, squeezing the towel dry.  
  
Keitaro gave a deep sigh, recognizing his inferiority, he plainly agreed to this arrangement. Keitaro could hear the Hinata girls rushing out to the kitchen. They were usually rather loud. Keitaro stared down at Shinobu, who was sleeping silently in her futon. She looked as if she was muttering something in her dreams..he couldn't make out the words that she was speaking.  
  
Meanwhile..  
  
At the Hinata kitchen, the Hinata girls were busily working themselves to create a good dinner meal, but of course, none of their cooking could really compare with Shinobu's.  
  
"Hey why are the turnip pieces a bit red?" asked Naru in awe, "Did you add food coloring?"  
  
Motoko paled. "Food coloring?" Motoko stuttered, holding up ten bandaged fingers, "How come these cutting knives are so different from my katana?"  
  
"Eeeek!" Naru shrieked as she pulled away from Motoko, "I'll just continue washing these rice I have over here." Then she shifted her head to find Kitsune sewing the mouths of two fishes together, making a figure that looked like they were kissing.  
  
"Kitsune!!!! What do you think you're doing?" cried Naru astonished.  
  
"What?" Kitsune replied innocently, "Don't you care for a little romance in your dish?"  
  
Naru stood stunned in front of the sink, feeling the awkwardness her two friends released beside her. The air thickened with stress: Motoko continued chopping her fingers, Kitsune continued using all the thread to sew mouths of two fishes together, and Naru was busily running back and forth, trying to keep things under control.  
  
"Umm....Naru," Motoko said in a quiet voice as she poked Naru, who was busily washing vegetables, with her bandaged finger.  
  
"What?" Naru snapped back, having her tops blown from being under too long periods of stress.  
  
"Uhh...I think your fried rice over there has gone in flames...." Motoko replied, without turning to look at the disaster on the stove.  
  
"WAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Naru screamed as she quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher that was very conveniently laid beside the kitchen and sprayed the pan of rice.  
  
(phew) The three girls gave out a deep sigh of relief. At that moment, Suu came in and said with a hungry smile, "So what's for dinner?"  
  
"Argh..." The three girls sighed and fell to the ground with exhaust.  
  
"What?" Suu said as she grabbed hold of a bucket of water and poured it over the three Hinata girls.  
  
On the other hand...  
  
"Keitaro-sempai! Don't go!" Shinobu cried from her dreams. She was dreaming of Keitaro leaving Hinata Sou with Naru to go off to another place and get married.  
  
"What is it Shinobu," Keitaro asked worriedly, as he shook Shinobu awake.  
  
"Sempai.." Shinobu called out wearily without realizing Keitaro leaning over her.  
  
Then Shinobu shot up from her sleep. Pearls of sweat rolled down her back and soaked her pajamas. Her face was blushing a deep pink and her eyes were bulging out with terror.  
  
"Shinobu...What is it? Is everything alright?" Keitaro asked with concern.  
  
"Sempai..." Shinobu fell onto Keitaro and hugged him, "Sempai..I was so afraid, so afraid that you were about to leave Hinata, leave Hinata and me.."  
  
"Huh?" Keitaro was blushing and he was nervous. He had never thought that Shinobu would like him....  
  
To worsen things further more, Naru was found standing by the foot of the doorway, holding a tray of food and she did not seem pleased....  
  
************  
  
So that was Chapter 3? What did you think? I thought it was kind of short but my eyes are getting really tired. To all the comments I received earlier about this fic..I'm really grateful to you all, but I really do not noe what I'm going to do with this fic. It was my first fic and it was intended as a trial to see how it goes...hehe..hope you don't mind the disorder! It's not really an all-based Shinobu or Naru fic, (well maybe not yet) but what I was trying to do at first was to make it a fic about ever character in Hinata Sou. But I guess reviews may determine the ending of this fic...so once again, please leave a review (or more if you want to hehe) behind to support this fic! Thanks to ya all! 


	4. Shinobu vs Naru

*******Thanku to all those who reviewed! I loved ur comments! Although the number of reviews is still very low, but still, knowing that some of you out there, are actually reading this fic makes me feel very happy! Plz continue! And I'll continue writing this fic!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Four: Shinobu vs. Naru..Who would you choose?  
  
The tray of food that Naru was holding fell to the floor, creating an ear piercing, splintering crash. Vibrations of glass collision echoed the outside hallway.  
  
"Naru!" Keitaro called out after Naru who was already in the motion of leaving.  
  
"Sempai.." Shinobu wept softly, wanting to hold Keitaro back, but not wanting to interfere with his relationship with Naru.  
  
"Shinobu-chan.." Keitaro whispered softly as he halted in the middle, turning his head back towards Shinobu.  
  
Shinobu sat on her futon and Keitaro stood by her for a long while. No one spoke anything to each other during the long, stressed, moment. The air filled with silence and awkwardness.  
  
"Should I tell sempai that I love him?" Shinobu thought to herself, "but what if he rejects me? We still have to see each other and that would make things very awkward between us. What if the other tenants of Hinatasou find out? What will they think of me? But if I don't tell sempai, then he will never know.."  
  
Shinobu couldn't determine whether or not she should tell Keitaro that she loved him. The feeling was paining her heart terribly. All those years she had been in love with him but unable to tell him of her true feelings. She was like his little secret admirer. She knew that there was the barrier of age difference between them but that didn't matter to her. What mattered was whether or not Keitaro feels the same for her. She had wanted to tell Keitaro of her true feelings a long time ago, but Keitaro and Naru's relationship advanced, and Shinobu had decided to drop out of the love triangle. All those years, the torture of seeing Naru and Keitaro together drilled a hole in her heart and tormented her. It pained her a lot to see the one she loved, loving someone else.  
  
At the same time, Keitaro was having thoughts of his own..  
  
"Shinobu loves me! Wow! All those years I've never had any girlfriends and now two girls fall for me at once???? This is too incredible!!!! But whom do I really love? Narusegawa? Or Shinobu-chan? But the one who I really love is.."  
  
Before Keitaro was able to finish his thought, Shinobu exploded from confining her feelings and spoke up, interrupting his decision.  
  
"Sempai!!!" Shinobu blurted out.  
  
"Huh?" Keitaro asked, surprised by Shinobu's sudden loud voice.  
  
After Keitaro spoke, Shinobu's voice somehow softened, "Um...sempai...argh...um..I...I...lo..lo"  
  
Before Shinobu finished her sentence, Keitaro spoke to prevent her from going on, "Shinobu-chan, I love Narusegawa, and I think I have to find her now. It's getting late. Please rest and get well soon." With that having said, Keitaro rushed out of Shinobu's room and went out the door to look for Naru.  
  
Shinobu was left alone in her room holding her covers to herself.  
  
"Keitaro sempai.." She whispered those painful words and broke into tears, burying her face in a little stuff animal. Her heart was shattered.  
  
****************  
  
Keitaro rushed out Hinatasou and turned his head to all sorts of direction, trying to catch glimpses of Naru's figure. Naru was nowhere in sight. Keitaro crouched sadly by the footsteps of Hinatasou and sat quietly thinking of Naru. He took out the ring case, which held the proposal ring that Naru had rejected and stared at it. The diamond on the ring reflected the golden glow of the moon and shimmered like the stars hung across the sky.  
  
Keitaro gave a deep sigh, "Oh...Narusegawa.."  
  
Then out of the bleak, he heard sounds of swings swinging, coming from behind Hinatasou.  
  
"The swings!" Keitaro thought aloud as the sudden answer popped into his mind, "Naru must be at the little playground behind Hinatasou!  
  
Keitaro raced himself against the wind as he rushed over to the playground where he saw Naru. She was swinging on the swings and had her head drooped down as if she was staring at her toes. Her beautiful, sleek, brown fell across her face, covering her countenance, but for some reason, it seemed to have lost all its radiance that it had once possessed.  
  
"Narusegawa.." Keitaro said in a whispery voice.  
  
Naru raised her head and looked up to the direction of the voice that had called her name.  
  
Keitaro gasped as he saw two streaks of tearstain running down Naru's face. Naru shifted her head away from Keitaro's sight to prevent him from seeing her cry. Keitaro walked up to Naru.  
  
"Narusegawa, what's wrong? Are you crying?" he asked with a soft tone, full of concern.  
  
"It's nothing. Just go away!" Naru choked out with stuttering breaths. "Shinobu-chan loves you! Don't make her disappointed!"  
  
"But Naru...I love you!" Keitaro hammered in.  
  
"But I...I...I...don't," Naru forced her words out. She wanted Keitaro and Shinobu to be happy. She knew she wasn't treating Keitaro right with her famous Naru punches and thought that he deserved a better girl; a kind and sweet girl like Shinobu-chan.  
  
"Naru! Listen! Even if you don't love me, I'll still love you. I won't be with Shinobu even if you exile yourself away from me!" Keitaro cried out with tears in his eyes.  
  
Naru stared into Keitaro's watery eyes and broke into tears. She fell into his arms and cried. She felt sorry for all the things she had done to him.  
  
"Keitaro..." Naru looked up, smiling, "I promise I won't hit you as much."  
  
Keitaro stared at her, a bit stunned, and sweetly replied, "As long as you're here, you can punch me as many times you want..but just not too hard okay? I don't have enough money to buy a plane ticket if you send me to the Americas."  
  
Naru smiled and then broke into laughter. Keitaro saw Naru laughing and he too broke into laughter. The two of them went hysterical and couldn't stop laughing. Tears were building behind their eyes as they laughed through the night. Little did they know that Shinobu was looking out at them through the window.  
  
The next day....  
  
Keitaro and Naru, holding hands, entered back into Hinatasou before sunrise. At the doorway, however, Naru had already let go of Keitaro's hand. Kitsune then came in, with a sake bottle at hand, and stared at the two. She was drunk again.  
  
"Hehe..you two lovebirds out all night?"  
  
"NO!!!" the two replied in unison.  
  
"Alright...chill!" Kitsune said as she made way back to her room.  
  
Not long after, Kitsune came flying about the living room with a note held tight in her hand.  
  
"Hey guys! Look! Shinobu has left us a note! She says she's going to California for a vacation!"  
  
"What?" all the tenants of Hinatasou cried aloud as each and every one of them popped their heads out of their room.  
  
**********  
  
So how was it? I'm sorry if you thought it was kind of short, I promise I'll make the next chapter longer...if you review more...hehe..just joking...but please! Do review! And to all those Shinobu fans out there, I'm sorry if this disappointed you but I promise that Shinobu is not gone forever! She will return! So please! Continue to support this fic! 


	5. What happened to Shinobu?

O my god! Thank you SO much for the reviews..I loved them all! Please continue! Hehe. Anyways, I hadn't really thought of how to write this next chapter and I'd tried my best to take most of your suggestions into action. Well anyways,..here's chapter 5!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter 5: What happened to Shinobu?  
  
Airplanes roared in the sky above the Tokyo Airport and noises of family and friends saying farewells to their beloved blended together, forming a background of commotion. Shinobu stood quietly and alone from all the commotion going on in the background, and stared into one of the monitors that listed when the flights begin. Shinobu held on tight to her suitcase, for it provided her a feeling of safety. Shinobu let out a tired sigh since her flight wouldn't begin until 9:10 am. The longer she spent in Japan, the more aggravated she would get. Time was torturing and it ticked her with every second of an hour. She went over to a coffee machine and got herself a cup of red tea to kill the time. Bored and exhausted of the long wait, she decided to sit on one of the chairs in the flight pending room.  
  
"Today I am going to leave Tokyo, leave Hinatasou and leave...Keitaro sempai. He will be happy with Naru-san." Shinobu thought to herself as she forced a weak smile. "I will enjoy myself at California and forget about sempai and sempai will forget about me too." Shinobu stopped in her thoughts. She knew she was just trying to convince herself to leave Keitaro and that she had made the right choice in leaving. However, it could not be denied that the linking feeling that she had towards Keitaro was still imperishable. All of a sudden, an unexpected loud noise broke the buzzing atmosphere.  
  
Shinobu turned her head in the direction of the loud noise. There, she saw Keitaro and Naru, holding hands, running towards her. Following close from behind, Motoko was in her custom kendo outfit and had her bokken with her, Su was still in her banana pajamas, and Kitsune was wearing her usual clothes, looking drunk.  
  
"Shinobu!!!" they all cried out in unison to prevent Shinobu from leaving Hinatasou.  
  
Shinobu stood up, frightened by their sudden approach. She couldn't decide between staying to hear what the tenants had to say and running away from them. In the end, with a pinch of courage and bravery, she decided to face her problems and stay to listen to what the residents had to say.  
  
Su was the first to break the silence. "Shinobu, don't go! No one can cook as good as you can for us no more and I still haven't had my breakfast yet!"  
  
"Yeah, your dishes are the best," Kitsune butted in, wobbling around the airport due to the dosages of alcohol that she must had taken in.  
  
"Shinobu-chan, this is your decision if you want to go or not. Never allow yourself to regret!" Motoko said.  
  
Shinobu's heart melted with the tenants' compassion.  
  
"They actually care.." Shinobu thought to herself. Then, Keitaro's voice spoke up, and ended her thoughts.  
  
"Shinobu-chan..Why are you leaving?" he asked full of concern.  
  
"Oh....um...I'm leaving because...." Shinobu began before she caught a glimpse of Naru aggravating. She seemed worried of Shinobu's answer. Shinobu quickly distorted the facts in her mind and spoke up to end the tension building because of her uncompleted answer.  
  
"Oh, well you see, I have always wanted to go to California. I feel tired. I want to go have fun and meet some new people!" answered Shinobu in the best cheery voice she could make out.  
  
"But why all of a sudden?" Su wondered aloud.  
  
"Oh...um...." Shinobu stuttered, not knowing how to answer Su's question.  
  
Naru finally spoke up, "Su, that's people's business. Don't be so impolite."  
  
Shinobu stared into Naru's eyes, thanking her for aiding her getaway. Naru smiled warmly in respond.  
  
"Well, Shinobu-chan, if that's your decision, then we should not delay your flight," Keitaro said as he slipped his hands into his pocket and produced a "Have a good flight" card. "Here, this is for you Shinobu-chan. We all signed it"  
  
Shinobu smiled weakly and accepted the card. Suddenly, a loud voice broke the ongoing farewell and called out to all the passengers whom were boarding California Express 156 to head out.  
  
"That's my flight," Shinobu said, not wanting to leave. She had hoped for Keitaro asking her to stay behind. However, the truth was unpromising as well as depressing. She grabbed her suitcase and headed towards the entrance door. Step by step she went. She prayed for one of the tenants to call after her, but no one did. Sadly, she entered onto the plane, without even waving a goodbye.  
  
Shinobu sat on one of the seats near the window and stared out into the Tokyo sky. From her bag, she took out the card that Keitaro had presented her. She opened it. Inside, was a cute drawing of Shinobu smiling.  
  
"Sempai must have drawn that," Shinobu thought.  
  
Beneath the drawing, all the tenants' names were visible with little wishes of farewell written underneath each signature. Suddenly, a depressing thought stuck Shinobu.  
  
"Why did they have this card written beforehand? Did they not want me to linger behind?" the evil thought pierced through Shinobu's mind as she broke into tears. She stopped when someone handed her a tissue. She looked up and saw a young male, of about her age (maybe a year or two older), staring down at her. He had jet-black hair and looked rather handsome with his hair shinning against the glow of the sunlight.  
  
"Don't cry," the boy soothed.  
  
"Arigatou," Shinobu thanked as she accepted the tissue.  
  
"My name is Yukiro Sakuranto," the boy introduced.  
  
"Oh...my name is Shinobu Maehera," Shinobu said in a tone so soft that it was just a key above a whisper.  
  
"Nice to meet you. You're going to California too right?" Yukiro asked.  
  
"Hai," Shinobu said softly.  
  
"I know there's a lot of places in California that's worth visiting. You want to come with me?"  
  
"Okay" Shinobu replied, not fully aware.  
  
Yukiro gave an attractive, wide smile and then started talking about all the places that they would go and all the things that they would do in California. However, Shinobu's mind was not following Yukiro's words but instead, drifting along thoughts of Keitaro.  
  
**************  
  
I'm sorry if that chapter wasn't long enough since I have a lot of work to do now that school has started. I'll try my best to write another chapter as soon as possible. And all you need to worry about is the reviews! I'll try my best to produce another chapter if you'll try your best to review! Arigatou! Ja ne....  
  
Special Note: If you're all wondering if this is nearing the end to this story, then I'll just have to say that you're all wrong! Haha....there's still a long way to go so please keep a look out for Spring's Gift.  
  
Also anther note: I'm really sorry if I'd gotten some spelling wrong of the Japanese suffixes since I'm not very sure of them myself. I think that there are more spellings so please cope with me ~~~~^^ Thank you to all reviews once again! Am I being too annoying? Haha... 


	6. Life Without Shinobu

Hello ppl! I'm SOOOOOO sorry for this late update! I have SOOOOOO much schoolwork at hands and I was sick over the week. It had been impossible for me to get to the computer nevertheless typing! So I'm very VERY SORRY! Please forgive me!!!! Gomenasai!!!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter 6: Life Without Shinobu  
  
It had been days ever since Shinobu left for California. Time passed by as usual and everything seemed as if Shinobu had not left before. The only difference was that Naru now had to take over Shinobu's chores, which was not very pleasant for a change. Motoko was reluctant to take on chores claiming that they would interfere with her training while Kitsune had merely replied no and had dragged herself back into her room where all of the inn's sake were kept. Empty sake bottles covered the floor making resemblances to glass bottle recycling plants. On the other hand, Kaolla accepted to do her shares of the chores but her means of "helping" was far off from the concept of washing dishes, creating meals and sweeping floors. Her definition of "helping out" was to invent some kind of gadget, maybe a mecha tama, to help her do all the household chores around. So far, her inventions either proved unsuccessful or unsafe, by means of exploding into pieces. Hence, Naru has to do all the chores, like Shinobu, by her own hands in spite of studying late into the night. With the messy inn, and unappetizing meals, the Hinatasou's tenants were beginning to see the importance of Shinobu's presence.  
  
"Eww...What is this on my plate?!" Kaolla cried rudely with her index finger pointing at some.some.food.on her plate.  
  
"That is mashed squid," Naru said in an as-a-matter-of -act tone of voice, "be grateful you're not eating garbage!"  
  
"But what about my bananas!" Kaolla countered.  
  
"The stuff you're chewing in your mouth is banana," Naru replied staring at the plastic like substance sticking out by the edge of Kaolla's mouth.  
  
"WHAT???" Kaolla asked, spitting the plastic like substance out of her mouth, "That was banana? How could you ruin banana's reputation by making it taste like car tires?!"  
  
Naru's eyes narrowed and Keitaro quickly reacted by saying, "It's just a meal..so lets not make too big a deal out of this okay...?"  
  
"Yeah," Motoko added to everyone's surprise, "As long as I get the needed nutrients for my training, I will cope with it. Maybe I could exercise my jaw muscles too if I chew this meat longer."  
  
"Uh.heh heh." Naru laughed, a bit awkwardly, not certain whether she should take Motoko's comment as a praise or an insult, but nonetheless, they continued on eating, without making any remarks after that.  
  
The next morning, Kaolla and Kitsune both woke up to an upset stomach, the two having strong feelings that it was Naru's dinner that had been culprit to this crime. Nonetheless, they kept their mouths shut for their later whiles' sake.  
  
Naru and Keitaro had both headed out to attend a studying block at Toudai. In the rowdiness of the crowd, Keitaro and Naru stared down at their books without talking to each other. It had been very awkward between ever since Shinobu's confession. The two didn't seem to speak to each other as much and whenever "special eye contact" was made, they would quickly look away to prevent any messages from going across.  
  
Keitaro still seemed unsure of his so-called relationship with Naru. He still wasn't too sure whether she loved him or not, but whereas on the other hand, he KNEW that Shinobu had loved him. What mattered to him the most though was not who loved him but instead, whom his heart loved and even that Keitaro could not make out clearly to himself. His love emotions for Shinobu and Naru seemed like a haze, very obscure and fuzzy, thus he decided to rest his case for then.  
  
Naru on the other hand, was uncertain of her passion for Keitaro as well. She knew she cared for him, but something else she knew was that Shinobu cared for him as well. She couldn't break Shinobu's heart knowing what she had been through (she may be experiencing the working part of it right now). In a way, she blamed herself for not strengthening and firming her relationship with Keitaro. Naru felt tired. She almost had a feeling of not wanting to continue.  
  
"Are you okay Naru? Your face seems to be blushing," Keitaro said amidst the background of noise pollution.  
  
"I'm okay Keitaro," Naru replied as she turned to flip a page of her book.  
  
Suddenly a figure from behind popped up behind Naru showing a warm greeting.  
  
"Konichiwa mina san!" Mutsumi cried as a sudden rush of wind miraculously blew in, lifting the tail of Mutsumi's long skirt. For some reason, these things seem to happen around Mutsumi all the time, even when inside a building (maybe from a window?). This had created quite a commotion.  
  
"Oh my," Mutsumi whispered, covering her mouth with her hands.  
  
"Mutsumi, why don't you sit by me here," Naru offered, shifting a seat away for Mutsumi to sit in.  
  
"Ah Thank you Naru-chan!" Mutsumi said as she was sitting down, "I've come to bring you two some good news!"  
  
"What is it?" Keitaro and Naru both asked as one, and then blushed after looking at each other for a whole 5-second lapse.  
  
"There is a prom night at Toudai tomorrow night.it's held once every 3 years and since this year we're all Toudai students, we all get to attend! Isn't it fabulous!" Mutsumi cried aloud with glee.  
  
"Hey it is pretty neat," Naru said, her eyes sparkling and her mind whirling with beautiful pictures and dream clips of her dancing gracefully in a ballroom.  
  
"Yea it is..."Keitaro said, landing a glance onto Naru who had already drifted to a daydream.  
  
"Anyways, you two would be partners right?" Mutsumi asked the two.  
  
"Partners?" they all asked in confused unison.  
  
"Why of course!" Mustumi exclaimed, "You have to go in pairs in order to enter the ballroom! It IS a formal occasion you know!"  
  
"Oh.."the two replied, a little sheepishly.  
  
"Well, all's said, I'll be seeing you two tomorrow night at the ballroom okay?!" Mustumi cried aloud before waving them a goodbye and then turning to leave the noisy room.  
  
"So what do you say?" Keitaro asked.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Would you be my partner?"  
  
Naru blushed a little harder than she had been a while ago, turning a little scarlet, "...Okay."  
  
Keitaro's face brightened with joy to Naru's words and he returned back to his happy state again.  
  
The following day Naru finished all her chores in a rush in order to save time to decorate herself. She had felt tired but she still continued, being motivated by the Toudai dance. Keitaro spent his day picking the right tie and right suit while Naru began picking out the perfect gown. In the end, Keitaro chose a black tuxedo with a navy blue bow tie and he wore black leather boots.  
  
"Alright Urashima Keitaro," Keitaro spoke to himself," You could do this, every girl in that ballroom tonight will fall for your dreaminess and handsomeness." (he must have been daydreaming again).  
  
Naru on the other hand, chose a beautiful black gown that fell to the floor, which depicted her feminine curves. She tied her chestnut brown hair up and applied some makeup onto her face. Alas, she performed the finishing touches by smoothing pink lip-gloss over her lips.  
  
"Naru are you ready?!" Kitsune's voice echoed to Naru's room as Naru was about to get out, "We're all waiting to see you!"  
  
Naru walked out into the living room and to her amazement, she found Keitaro, dressed handsomely in his tuxedo, standing before her with his eyes filled with amazement. His eyes were definitely captivated by hers.  
  
"You look beautiful Narusegawa," Keitaro said, almost half to himself.  
  
Naru blushed and continued her slow steps, advancing towards him. However, with each step taken, Naru's smile seemed to wither more. Her face paled and her eyes lost the radiance it had possessed just a while ago. Suddenly she fell to the ground and fainted. The living room turned to a blur and her entire vision blacked out.  
  
**********************  
  
So, that was chapter 6? How was it?! I hope you liked it. Please continue supporting this and I'll try my best to fit in another chapter as soon as possible. And I just want to remind you all that Shinobu is not out of this fic so please do not abandon it if you see other progressions of relationships.  
  
PS Sorry, no time to check over, please excuse any mistakes, but u can still yell at me in reviews if you please..since I don't mind any comments in my review (*Hint Hint * ) Now what are you waiting for, leave a review already! 


	7. Who’s Keitaro Taking Out to the Dance?

Very sorry for the late update! School has been catching on my nerves..*shudders* Well anyways, I just want to ask u guys something..Are you guys reading this? Because if you are..PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I've been getting really little reviews for my fics so far, and I don't know if you still want me to continue this or not. So... Please leave a review! Arigatou!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Seven: Who's Keitaro Taking Out to the Dance?  
  
"Naru! Naru!" Keitaro called out.  
  
It was half past six and Naru had been passed out for nearly an hour or so already. Keitaro was kneeling beside Naru's futon, helping her keep cool with a wet towel. The rest of the Hinata girls were all very worried about Naru's health.  
  
"I think she's having a fever," Motoko said when she placed her hands on Naru's forehead.  
  
"Naru.." Keitaro said with a small voice, "..she must have been working too hard...."  
  
"Oh..poor Naru..."Su said as she peered over Motoko's shoulder.  
  
"Hey, she's beginning to stir awake!" Kitsune cried aloud, her finger pointing towards Naru.  
  
They all gasped and turned their heads in Naru's direction. Naru winced as she tried to bring herself awake. Slowly, she opened her heavy eyes, squinting to the light of her room. Her vision soon cleared up from the haze, and she could make out all her friends' faces looking down at her.  
  
"Mina-san..." Naru said.  
  
"Naru, Are you okay?" Keitaro asked, his eyes searching for an answer.  
  
Naru looked at Keitaro's worried face and realized that he had been by her side, keeping her cool all along.  
  
"Keitaro..."  
  
"Narusegawa....."  
  
"Um..*ehem* Kitsune cleared her throat as she began, "Does anyone know we have guest right now?"  
  
"Huh?" they all questioned as they turned their heads, and realized that Mutsumi was standing by the entrance doorway.  
  
"Ara, Konichiwa!" Mutsumi greeted as she walked into the room in a beautiful, long, violet dress. Her usual curly hair was tied into an exotic, yet beautiful bun, with a few strands of her hair coming down stylishly to her shoulders. Mutsumi clasped her hands together, then raised one of them in front of her mouth and said, "Ara, Narusegawa...you're sick?!"  
  
"Yes Mutsumi-chan," Naru replied weakly, with the towel still on top of her forehead. She pulled the covers of her futon closer to her as she sneaked a little further into her futon.  
  
"Oh my," Mustumi said with her hand still in the position that looked as if she was covering her mouth, "But you have to go to the dance with Keitaro today!"  
  
"Oh yes! I've totally forgotten about that!" Naru cried as she jumped to a sitting position from her futon.  
  
"No! No! Naru!" Keitaro cried, forcing Naru back down to rest, "You've got to get some rest...we could always go next year!" He lied.  
  
"...no," Mutsumi said as she responded to Keitaro's comment about going together next year, "the dance won't take place in another 3 years!"  
  
Everyone turned their heads menacingly towards Mutsumi, throwing dark glares at her for making that last comment. Mutsumi sweatdropped, "Ara, Oh my...."  
  
"But Naru! You're sick!" Keitaro said, "I won't go too! Okay?!"  
  
"No!" Naru insisted, "You mustn't not go! This event is very special! You must go! I don't want you to miss out on this special occasion because of me!"  
  
"But Naru.."  
  
"No buts Keitaro!" Naru said as she held up her fists in the Naru punch ready position signaling for another one of her famous Naru punches.  
  
Keitaro held his hands out, calming Naru before she throws the killing punch at him.  
  
"Alright," relented Keitaro feeling a little intimidated. "But I don't have a partner!" Keitaro said once again, trying to persuade Naru to change her mind.  
  
"What do you mean you don't have a partner..." Kitsune said, her eyes narrowing, "Do you think all us girls here are not good enough for you?"  
  
"No! No! It's not like that!" Keitaro said, waving his arms around the room trying to explain. "Argh..life was hard" he thought.  
  
"Yes, Yes, We get it Keitaro," Kitsune said, her hand moving up and down, producing a sarcastic gesture, "You just want Naru to be with you eh?"  
  
"NO! That's not it!" Keitaro explained, blushing so heavily that he was almost sweating.  
  
"Fine then, you could take me!" Kitsune suggested as she ran through Naru's closet for a dress.  
  
"Why take you?" Su said, half to herself.  
  
Kitsune heard the remark and said, "Because I'm the most mature of all you here!"  
  
Keitaro allowed Kitsune to be his partner since he had just wanted to please Naru so any girl would do. He knew deep inside that Kitsune had only wanted to go because of the champagne and wine Toudai had there. Sulkily, he walked back to the inn's living room Suddenly a phone called rang and Motoko hurried down from Naru's room to answer it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, this is Seta," the voice from the receiver announced.  
  
"Oh it's you Seta-san..are you calling for a re-match?" Motoko asked eagerly.  
  
"No, that's not the reason why I called," Seta explained, "I need to leave for an excavation today and I need someone to look after Sarah for me."  
  
"Oh," Motoko said, a little disappointed, "Well I guess I could look after Sarah for you. The others have things to do so I don't think they could help you.  
  
"Arigatou Motoko-chan!"  
  
Motoko hanged up and went back to see how Kitsune was doing with her dressing.  
  
"Kitsune! Are you finished?" Motoko asked, a little frustrated of her friend's picky behavior.  
  
"Hey geez, a girl has got to keep up with her appearance.." Kitsune said, "and besides, it's Toudai we're talking about here..all those smart and rich guys I will be surrounded by...an ocean of riches..pools of alcohol....and there's always Seta...." Stars were beginning to twinkle in her eyes as she clasped her hands together, daydreaming.  
  
"Uh...Kitsune!" Motoko called aloud sarcastically, so that Kitsune would snap out of her daydream, "Seta can't go because he has an excavation project!"  
  
"HUH????" Kitsune asked, eyes widening, "How did you know?" "Cause he just phoned telling me to look after Sarah for him," Motoko explained.  
  
"Oh!" exclaimed Kitsune, "then I must be there to help him too! Sarah and I are so compatible with each other!" (not!)  
  
'But you promised Urashima!" Motoko said.  
  
"Who cares!" Kitsune said, changing back into her normal clothes, "It's JUST Keitaro!"  
  
"Fine, you'll have to go tell him then!" said Motoko.  
  
"Keitaro!" Kitsune called out after changing back into her regular clothes.  
  
"Yes?" Keitaro answered. When he saw Kitsune in her regular clothes, he got shocked and asked, "Why aren't you in your dress?"  
  
"I'm not going to the dance with you any more Keitaro" Kitsune said.  
  
"WHAT?!" Keitaro exclaimed, his brain erupting with thoughts. "How am I to explain to Naru?" Keitaro thought to himself, fearing that he would make Naru disappointed.  
  
"Hmmm...."Kitsune thought for a minute, then suddenly, an awesome idea struck her, "Why don't you take Motoko-chan!"  
  
"Motoko?" Keitaro exclaimed, his face blushing.  
  
Motoko saw this and immediately unsheathed her sword, pulling the sharp edge of the blade up Keitaro's neck, "Why were you smiling Urashima?"  
  
"Nothing.."Keitaro said shakily.  
  
"Would you go to the dance with me Motoko-chan?" Keitaro asked, with eyes filled with hope.  
  
"Give me 3 good reasons why I should!" demanded Motoko, arms across her chest.  
  
Keitaro thought for a while, trying his very best to think up three good reasons why Motoko should go out with him. "Ummm...first, because you are too stressed with your training and you should relax a bit. Second, because...er..because I could take you out for dinner and anywhere you want to go after...and lastly because...um.. because I can do most of the chores around the inn afterwards until Narusegawa gets better."  
  
"Hmmm.."Motoko thought to herself, "his reasons seem pretty good. And I guess having a little break couldn't hurt."  
  
"Fine Urashima," Motoko finally announced, having to go through serious thinking, "I will go to the dance with you."  
  
"Ah, Arigatou Motoko-chan!" Keitaro thanked, bowing low to show his gratitude.  
  
Motoko quickly ran to her room to change after borrowing a long dress from Naru. It was a long, red dress with beautiful flower patterned knitted into the fabric. It fitted her perfectly, showing her athletic figure. She quickly tied up her hair so that it no longer ran boringly down her shoulders, but resembled a bit of Mutsumi's exotic bun.  
  
"I'm done," Motoko said after five minutes of dressing.  
  
Keitaro looked at the feminine version of Motoko. She was indeed very attractive. His eyes laid fixed onto Motoko and Motoko soon got suspicious of what he was thinking inside his mind.  
  
"What are you thinking about you pervert?!" Motoko cried aloud, punching Keitaro. Her punches were indeed very powerful, enough to match Naru's, causing Keitaro to fly across the room, crashing against walls, one by one.  
  
"Now let's go," said Motoko, standing patiently by the door, waiting for Keitaro to join her.  
  
"Motoko-chan..."  
  
*********************  
  
Next Chapter: Motoko on a date with Keitaro? What will happen? What will the dance leave behind between Motoko and Keitaro's relationship? Does Keitaro have THREE relationships going on now??? Please REVIEW to find out haha! I'll update ASAP if you REVIEW ASAP!!!! 


	8. Motoko’s Date…What will happen?

Thank you all VERY MUCH for reviewing this fic! It had made me feel very happy, just knowing you're still reading it! Anyways, I'm thinking of writing a seasonal set of LH stories including a Summer's Gift, a Winter's Gift, and an Autumn's gift, each featuring its own little "love story". So what do you think about that? Please tell me in your reviews!!! Well anyways, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Eight: Motoko's Date.What will happen?  
  
Night was soon falling over Tokyo, dark blanket covering little dots of lights that flickered on the streets. Cars whizzed past and people continued with their chores, running errands about the loud streets, making it very noisy and crowded, but yet, still very cheerful. Cherry blossom petals covered the ground, its pink color darkened by the darkness, making each step soft to walk across. A cherry blossom petal drifted down, settling on top of Motoko's head as she and Keitaro walked together side by side, however, hands not touching.  
  
"Motoko-chan," Keitaro began as he stared at the cherry blossom petal that laid peacefully on top of Motoko's hair.  
  
"What Urashima?" Motoko snapped with a glare, making sure he wasn't trying to make any stupid moves.  
  
"Ummm...you have something on your hair," said Keitaro as he began reaching for Motoko's hair to brush the petal off.  
  
"No!" Motoko cried, stopping Keitaro halfway in his action, "I'll get it myself..."  
  
"Oh, okay then Motoko," Keitaro replied sheepishly.  
  
Motoko reached for her hair and skillfully located the blossom and removed it off her head. Afterwards, the air thickened with awkwardness and Motoko and Keitaro didn't land a single glance at each other, fearing what the other would say. People on the streets stared at the couple wondering why the two, dressed in such formal fashion, would keep such a far distance apart. They continued walking down the streets calmly as Motoko and Keitaro thought about what was best to say to each other. From being too concentrated about thinking what to say, Motoko, unaware of her surroundings, walked straight across the streets without looking for the lights, which had just switched to the red hand, signaling passengers to halt.  
  
"Motoko!!!" Keitaro cried out as he raced towards Motoko, grabbing her by the arm just in time before a large cargo truck ran her down.  
  
Motoko, suddenly realizing her dangerous situation, gasped in shock, clutching to her chest. "Motoko-chan! Are you alright?" Keitaro asked as he looked peering to Motoko's face, which was covered by her bangs when her head was hanging down.  
  
"I'm okay Urashima," Motoko said, still catching her breath. Then after a second of thought, she said a little uneasily, "Arigatou Keitaro."  
  
Keitaro gave her a wide smile and patted Motoko on the back, helping her get up.  
  
"So how do you say we go out for pizza?" Keitaro asked in his most cheery voice, hoping his suggestion would cheer the frightened Motoko up.  
  
Motoko smiled, "Fine, as long as you're paying."  
  
Keitaro and Motoko then walked to a little pizza parlor where they ordered two slices of pizza each. Motoko ate her share while Keitaro finished the ends of his plate. Motoko, finishing her pizzas quicker than Keitaro, grew bored, and started looking around her surroundings to see what's interesting. She saw the chef throwing a pizza into the air and a middle- aged lady sweeping the floors. Motoko shifted her glance and saw a couple sipping a milkshake together, giggling. Motoko's face turned red. She gave a quick look at Keitaro who was sipping the last drop of his soda.  
  
"Umm...Keitaro?" Motoko asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you always take girls to eat pizza with you?" Motoko asked, very curious of the answer.  
  
"HUH???" Keitaro answered, a little shock of the kendo girl's question. Very cautiously he answered, "Ummm..no, I guess this if my first time eating with a girl at a pizza parlor. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little shameful and embarrassed with his answer.  
  
"I see.." Motoko said, "Well now that you're finished, lets head to Toudai now."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
Keitaro paid the bill and left the parlor with Motoko following from behind. The duo walked together quietly, not speaking a word to each other, in the direction of Tokyo U. Very soon, the two reached the grand entrance of Toudai. It was especially grand looking today because of the decorations. As they entered into the grand building, they were greeted by Mutsumi who still had the exotic hair.  
  
"Hey Kei-kun! Hey Motoko!" Mutsumi cried out, smiling. Beside her was a tall and handsome looking guy who was even taller than Motoko.  
  
"Ara, this is Turo Kona, a sophomore I met in school. He didn't have anyone to go to the dance with so he asked me!" Mutsumi said as she introduced who the friend next to her was.  
  
"Hi!" both Motoko and Keitaro answered together.  
  
"Are you two girlfriend and boyfriend?" Turo asked.  
  
"NO!!!" Motoko answered loudly, before Keitaro this time. Then she stepped back a little, feeling a little embarrassed about her overreaction.  
  
"Ara Ara, they do look like a good couple!" Mutsumi said as she clasped her hands together in front of her again.  
  
Suddenly, a loud voice from a speaker called everyone into the grand ballroom.  
  
"Let's go!" Mutsumi said as she began leading Keitaro and Motoko into the ballroom.  
  
Before the entrance to the ballroom, Keitaro and Mutsumi both showed their tickets for their partners and entered into the grand ballroom. Motoko walked in and was at once, amazed at the scene before. Beautifully dressed girls stood by tall men; waiters and waitress served trays of snacks to the participants; glasses of wine stood on top of each other, forming a pyramid of alcohol; on a long table on either sides of the ballroom. A grand crystal chandelier hanged overhead the room and scattered its bright lighting among the anxious dancers. In the front of the room, the four friends could see an old man stepping up to begin his speech. It was another one of those boring speeches that welcomed the people to the fest and provided no entertaining means. Despite that, everyone listened, respectfully to the old man speak in his monotonous voice. When he finally finished his speech, everyone clapped their hands loudly, happy that they could finally get onto their dancing toes. The music began and many couples began dancing to the dance floor. Keitaro, Motoko, Mutsumi, and Turo moved away as they decided not to join the dance yet.  
  
"Come on! Don't you guys want to dance too?" Mutsumi urged as she began dragging Turo's arm with one hand, and Motoko with another. She forced Motoko onto Keitaro so that they would dance but however, they didn't seem to cope with each other. Alas when Mutsumi started attracting a large deal of attention on the couples, Motoko and Keitaro finally relented to dance with each other. Motoko gave Keitaro a warning glare before entering the dance floor and Mutsumi giggled, while Keitaro stepped a step back. When the first piece of music ended and the next began, Keitaro and Motoko started dancing.  
  
First, Keitaro awkwardly put his hands behind Motoko's waist, sending a sudden feeling of ice down Motoko's spine. She had almost wanted to draw her blade out, but remembered she hadn't brought it to the dance. Calming herself down, she drew her hands behind Keitaro's neck, and the two danced to the music. Mutsumi was already dancing to her heart's delight on the dance floor, giggling with each step. Motoko and Keitaro on the other hand, danced each step, awkwardly, with Motoko occasionally throwing warning glares and Keitaro receiving them with a little shock. However, as time passed by, both Motoko and Keitaro were beginning to get the hang of dancing and started enjoying it a bit.  
  
"Hey, dancing's not too bad, eh Motoko?" Keitaro asked, eyes staring into Motoko.  
  
Motoko shifted her gaze and answered with a little pout-like expression, "It's okay.."  
  
As the music stopped, a big man, who had probably weighed two hundred and something pounds, stumbled behind and bumped into Keitaro, causing him to move forward onto Motoko. As Keitaro dropped himself on top of Motoko, his lips accidentally pressed onto Motoko's face.  
  
"URASHIMA!!!!" Motoko cried aloud, kicking Keitaro to the next end of the ballroom wall, "How dare you?!"  
  
"WAH!!! Motoko-chan!" Keitaro cried out, pleading for innocent, "I'm sorry but it was that man who crashed into me!"  
  
The two hundred pound man glared at Keitaro, one of those menacing ones, and had immediately shut Keitaro up.  
  
Motoko, stormed angrily out of the ballroom, with her face blushing a red too deep to describe. Keitaro on the other hand, was still lying on the floor after the damaged caused by the Motoko Kick Attack.  
  
"Motoko-chan.."  
  
Outside Toudai's building, Motoko ran towards a bench near the flower gardens. The colors of the flowers were already impossible to make out due to the darkness of the sky. Little diamond-like stars hung above Motoko's head. Motoko sat on the bench, trying to catch her breath. She felt the temperature of her face, which was burning hot. Motoko thought back to what had happened, and shook the memory out of her brain.  
  
"Why am I thinking about this?" Motoko questioned herself, "I shouldn't be thinking about that baka! I would loose concentration and would never be able to inherit the Shimeiryuu!" Motoko thought so much that tears began pouring down her face. She realized, the more she think, that she was thinking a lot more about Keitaro than she had when he first came to Hinatasou. In fact, she was thinking about him, almost every single day now! She was beginning to get afraid of what might happen to her if she REALLY did fall in love with Keitaro. How would she inherit the dojo then? What would happen if she followed the steps of her sister? And Keitaro's already in a relationship with Naru!!! All these heavy thoughts caused Motoko to weigh painfully in her mind. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling.  
  
"Motoko-chan? Are you here?" Keitaro's voice pierced into the silence.  
  
Motoko heard and immediately duck under the bench so that Keitaro would not be able to sight her. She thanked the darkness for helping to conceal her, but as she finished the end of that thought, she felt a hand reaching down to her, landing on her shoulders!  
  
****************  
  
Now that was Chapter 8!!! I'm SOOOO tired! I have so much homework but because I promised that if you review I would return your kindness with another chapter of Spring's Gift, I need to fulfill my promise! Now go on! Leave a review and I'll write another chapter as soon as possible.  
  
Next Chapter: What will happen to Motoko and Keitaro's relationship after the dance? And is that Shinobu who's going to come back? Oh no! What would Keitaro do now with three love cases going on??? Read on to find out!!! 


	9. The Phone Call

Once again, I thank all of you who reviewed. Your reviews had been very supportive! How can I EVER repay you.....hmmm......how about another chapter to Spring's Gift? Hopefully this chapter would please and urge more of you to review hehe. Anyway without further ado, I write for you, Spring' Gift Chapter 9!!!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter 9: The Phone Call  
  
As the hand landed on her shoulder, Motoko immediately turned her back and slapped if off, showing her skilled reflexes, which were an accomplishment of her continuous, hard training. Motoko slowly looked up, fearing that it might be Keitaro who was standing beside her. However, it turned out that Mutsumi who was the one who had rested the caring hand on Motoko's shoulder.  
  
"Mutsumi-chan!" Motoko exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"Ara, that's me!" Mutsumi said cheerfully, pointing her index finger at her face, indicating that the name had indeed belonged to her.  
  
"What are you doing out here?" Motoko questioned, rising to her feet as she asked her question.  
  
"That's just what I wanted to ask you too," Mutsumi said.  
  
Motoko looked away. She didn't want to confess her feelings in front of anyone yet because her feelings were still not straightened. She needed someone to explain to her what she was feeling. Her feelings seemed like a haze to her, her vision blurred by emotions. She could still feel her face burning with embarrassment from the little incident; her blood rushing with adrenaline.  
  
"Motoko?" Mutsumi asked, disturbing the awkward silence that Motoko had used, to straighten out her thoughts.  
  
"Yes?" Motoko answered, a little relieved to be pulled out from her deep thoughts.  
  
"Do you like Kei-kun?" Mutsumi asked, blushing a little.  
  
Waves of dread collapsed over Motoko, one by one, as Motoko gaped at Mutsumi's sudden and embarrassing question. "Liking Keitaro" seemed just the perfect key needed to resolve Motoko's emotion confusion. The words "Liking Keitaro" echoed to and fro in Motoko's mind, the entire puzzle coming to place now. Did Motoko like Keitaro too? All those thoughts seemed to lead to one final conclusion that Motoko likes Keitaro.  
  
"Motoko likes Keitaro"  
  
Those frightful words echoed, entering Motoko's ears persistently. Motoko shook her head hard, trying to clear her mind of thoughts related to Keitaro.  
  
"Motoko-chan, Are you alright?" Mutsumi asked, concerned of Motoko's well being.  
  
"ARGHH," Motoko cried aloud, in frustration while continuing to shake the thoughts out her mind. However, thoughts of Keitaro continued to linger, his face reappearing within every one second.  
  
"I can't stand this any more!" Motoko almost screamed out the words.  
  
In an instant, she leapt to her feet and ran away rashly, leaving Mutsumi, stunned, sitting on the bench.  
  
Motoko ran and ran; she ran as fast as she could, knocking people down on the as she did, but she didn't care. All she cared for was to run away from her dreads and to clear her mind. She liked running when she feels confused by her emotions. It's kind of like running away from your problems for a slight while; just to keep your mind clear of worries, even if it's just for a bit. Motoko enjoyed the sound of her heart beating with each step she ran. She felt safe like that; it felt somewhat down-to-earth. Finally, Motoko pulled to a stop. She found herself standing by one of the waterfalls where she usually meditated.  
  
"It's the spirit of the water" Motoko murmured to herself, "It will help me meditate and clear the mind."  
  
Motoko went over to the waterfall, and stood by the running water. The water poured down fast beside her, pearls of water splashing onto her dress, tickling her. Motoko giggled a bit, enjoying the satisfaction nature brought her. She untied her hair, allowing her hair to fall freely down, just like the waterfall. She felt like herself now despite the dress unfamiliar to her. A true Aoyama. Motoko gazed up at the twinkling diamonds embedded on the night cloth. They flickered at her as if they were winking. Motoko smiled at them, thanking them for making her happy. Dark clouds soon drifted over and obscured the bright yellow moon and stars. Motoko decided to return to Hinata Sou.  
  
Motoko crept into the inn building. Everything was quiet. The lights were turned off. Motoko tiptoed through the hallways, passing by Naru's room as she did. The door was slightly opened, leaving a gap, which light came out of. Motoko peered in, surprised to find Keitaro kneeling beside Naru. Naru seemed to be asleep and Keitaro was still in his tuxedo. He seemed to be thinking by Naru's side. "Maybe he's trying to straighten out his thoughts too," Motoko thought to herself. Just when Motoko turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of Keitaro pulling down to press a kiss on Naru's silky face. Motoko was shocked when she saw this, fury and jealousy burning her face. A sudden rush of emotions urged her back to her room. Motoko ran to her room, closing the door behind her. The thought of Keitaro loving Naru teased her mind. She leaned against her bedroom door, her back pressed against the cool surface. Motoko looked up, seeing the samurai uniform standing in front of her.  
  
"What's happening?" Motoko questioned herself. "Do I love Urashima? Why did I blush? All these thoughts darted at Motoko's weak mind as she thought more. "What about inheriting the dojo? Am I walking the same path as Sister? What would others think of me?? My reputation would degrade among everyone's heart! Love? Or Kendo?"  
  
Motoko groaned at the thoughts. She decided to end the day as it was, falling onto her futon, and snuggling in. She didn't even care about changing into her regular clothes. Let's just leave everything for the next day.......  
  
The next day, the residents woke up, not by the birds' merry chirping voices, but by a phone call.  
  
Bring Bring Bring  
  
"I'll get it!" Su cried out jumpily, rushing towards the inn's phone.  
  
"Ohayou!" Su greeted into the receiver.  
  
"Kaolla-san," the timid voice in the receiver called back.  
  
Su was a bit shocked that the person recognized her voice. The voice sounded awfully familiar. It was.........It was...........  
  
"I am Shinobu," Shinobu said as she helped Su finished the last of her thoughts.  
  
"Shinobu!" Su cried out at once, joy overpowering her.  
  
Shinobu giggled a bit at Su's usual enthusiasm. "I'm coming back the day after tomorrow," she said.  
  
"Whoepeee!" Su cried out, her legs doing the splits in mid-air, knocking Keitaro who was standing beside her throughout the entire the conversation. All the other Hinata girls were up as well; Kitsune was still in her sleepy mood; Motoko was up too and her eyes persistently flashed warning glares at Keitaro; Naru, was also regaining much of her health back as well as wearing a smile across her face.  
  
"Shinobu's returning!" Kaolla cried out, announcing the happy news to all the other tenants.  
  
The others cheered, despite early morning's sleepy spell.  
  
Shinobu could hear everyone cheering behind the receiver, she felt warm within. "Ummm....anyways, I've got to go now, I'm running out of time. This is a pay phone I'm using. I'll see you guys in Japan soon!"  
  
"Bye Bye!" Su called into the receiver.  
  
"Bye Bye," Shinobu said back.  
  
All the tenants cheered. Everyone was happy that Shinobu was coming back. Naru, herself, was glad that she no longer had to do all the chores around the inn, and the rest were just glad they no longer needed to endure Naru's distasteful cooking.  
  
"Oh yeah, by the way, how was the dance yesterday?" Kitsune asked, disturbing the rowdiness in the inn.  
  
Motoko blushed and sadly, Kitsune saw this.  
  
"Oooooo Motoko! Why are you blushing" Kitsune teased, intending no harm.  
  
Fury grew in Motoko and Motoko stormed out of the house, bringing her katana with her. "I have to go practice now," she announced as she left the inn.  
  
Now everyone's attention was brought upon Keitaro, whose hands waved around in mid-air, trying to explain his innocence.  
  
"Now what did you do Keitaro?" Naru asked with menacing eyes narrowing, "Do you have to get every girl sad here before you're satisfied?"  
  
Kitsune crossed her arms across her chest and moved closer in to Keitaro, whispering soft words into his ears "So what did you do to her huh? Spill!" She said the last word so loudly that everyone heard it and were waiting for Keitaro to "spill" the truth.  
  
"We just had a little accident at the dance," Keitaro said truthfully, though hiding some important details.  
  
"Accidents are not acceptable Keitaro!" Naru cried out, and despite her poor health state, she managed to throw a punch at Keitaro causing him to fly out of the inn.  
  
"Hmph" Naru said triumphantly.  
  
Afterwards, the gang at the inn dispersed into their rooms and minded their own business for now......however each and everyone of them, anticipated for Shinobu's return deep inside .  
  
***********  
  
Yeah I know that wasn't the best chapter, but please, continue to review! Any suggestions welcome! Tell me how you want Keitaro's relationshipS to advance. And how about that volume of four? Do you want a Summer's Gift, an Autumn's Gift, and a Winter's Gift? Each story would star a different pairing, hopefully. It would probably bring an earlier than expected end to Spring's Gift, but I will continue to write! Please continue looking out for this story!  
  
Next Chapter: Shinobu's returning! Keitaro has to deal with the love triangle again, nonetheless having issues with Motoko going on now too! How would he deal with these relationships? Which girl would he choose in the end? Please read to find out! 


	10. Shinobu Returns!

Just want to say, I'm grateful to receive all your reviews ^-^, however about pairings, I still haven't really decided. But don't worry since even if this story's pairing doesn't suit your reading preference, I will try to have theme it for one of the other three volumes following this story in Summer's Gift, Autumn's Gift and Winter's Gift. Please enjoy!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter 10: Shinobu's Return  
  
All the residents looked forward to that special day when Shinobu would return from America, and that everything would return to normal. It had been a very long, and tormenting wait indeed, especially with everyone feeling awkward in each other's presence all of a sudden. Naru had been avoiding Keitaro recently, and Keitaro felt nervous around Motoko's presence. Motoko, on the other hand, had not been feeling very secure with Keitaro's presence as well, sending him out into space whenever she found him nearby. Moreover, Kitsune and Su, seeing their friends so strange lately, isolated themselves away from them as well. Hinata Sou no longer seemed as cheery as it was before........  
  
The pair of brown swallows chirped merrily on the bark of a cherry blossom branch. Many of the branches' petals had already withered and fallen down onto the soft ground, while sprouts of young leaves poked their little green heads out to kiss the warm sun. Spring was ending, and summer was soon to arrive.  
  
"Bring Bring Bring" The rowdy alarm clock sounded in Kitsune's messy room, floor covered by layers of empty sake bottles.  
  
"Argh...." Kitsune grumbled, slapping down the disruptive alarm that had caused her to awake from her sweet dreams.  
  
"Why, in the name of Sake Goddess, did I set the alarm clock so early to wake myself?" Kitsune questioned her weary self, her mind still asleep. After a few minutes of empty thoughts and tired blinking, Kitsune soon realized that today was the day when Shinobu would come back. Just thinking of all the delicious food that Shinobu would make for them after she came back made Kitsune's mouth water uncontrollably. She quickly raced out of her room and raced into the girl's bathroom, where she saw Naru, Su, and Motoko up already, brushing their teeth.  
  
"Wah?!!! You guys are up already?" Kitsune asked, a little surprised.  
  
"Of course! Sleeping beauty, we were up ages ago!" Naru answered with her voice obscured by the foam bubbling from her mouth.  
  
The girls quickly got dressed and went out into the dining room, finding Keitaro already dressed for the morning.  
  
"Why's he so anxious?" both Naru and Motoko thought simultaneously. The two girls soon ended that thought and decided that it was time for them to leave for the airport.  
  
"Let's go guys!" Su chirped joyfully, unable to stand the excitement, and the rest followed her order and left the inn.  
  
Roaring noises of airplanes flying over the Tokyo airport sounded in the interior building, echoing about the vast space. The five friends entered into the big airport and looked around them, trying to catch glimpses of Shinobu.  
  
"California Express 219 is now boarding....." the man from the speaker announced.  
  
"Hey isn't that Shinobu-chan's plane?" Kitsune asked.  
  
"Oh yeah! It is!" Su cried out loud, running over to the gates were Shinobu would be coming out from. The other residents joined her as they waited patiently for their friend to come out. One by one, a passenger came out of the doors, however none turning out to look like Shinobu.  
  
"Where is Shinobu?" Su questioned impatiently, her head looking out for her friend.  
  
"I don't know," Ketiaro answered, a little curious himself now too.  
  
"Hey, look!" Motoko cried out, her hand pointing in the direction of a couple coming out of the doors. They were the last ones to come out.  
  
"It's...." Kitsune began, widening her eyes for a better view to make out the visage of her friend who had changed quite incredibly over time.  
  
Shinobu no longer looked as young as she had before her trip. She looked rather more feminine than before, her clothing styles changed incredibly. The clothes she wore were rather similar to those that Naru would usually wear, somewhat more revealing. Her face looked different somehow as well. It had taken the others some time in staring before they realized that Shinobu was wearing make up over her face. What's even more astonishing was that Shinobu was walking beside a handsome, young man, and their hands were holding?!!!!  
  
"Shinobu-chan!" Su cried aloud, "Who is this new friend of yours?"  
  
"Mina-san, this is Yukiro, and Yukiro, this is Mina-san," Shinobu said joyfully, forcing some chuckles.  
  
"Konichiwa," Yukiro greeted dreamily at the girls. However, none of this charming spell took any effect on any of the girls. In contrary, all the girls were worried about their friend and her new transformation.  
  
"Shinobu-chan, why have you changed your ways?" Motoko questioned sternly at Shinobu, not approving of one changing their ways because of other's influence and pressure.  
  
All the others looked worriedly at Shinobu since the old Shinobu would have cried in a confronting situation like this, however this new Shinobu answered confidently, and spoke boldly against the strong swordswoman.  
  
"I just wanted to have a little change," Shinobu answered as if it wasn't much of a big deal.  
  
All the others stood a little stunned by Shinobu's complete different attitude. It was as if it was a new person, sharing the same face at their friend, talking to them. This was not Shinobu........  
  
"Shinobu, lets get back, " Keitaro said, pulling Shinobu by the arm.  
  
"Don't touch me Urashima!" Shinobu yelled at the top of her lungs, getting rid of Keitaro's strong grip. Keitaro looked, stunned by Shinobu.  
  
"Why is she doing this?" he thought, "Why has she changed so much? Is it because......"  
  
Shinobu looked away to hide her blush. Her blood rushed with adrenaline. Quickly, she hid her feelings and put on her act again.  
  
"I must confine my feelings," Shinobu constantly reminded herself.  
  
"Now let us leave," Shinobu said, trying to sound as cocky as possible.  
  
"You are not Shinobu!" Su cried aloud as she jumped onto her dear friend whose back laid on the cool airport floor, struggling to get Kaolla off her.  
  
Shinobu fought back tears. "I'm doing this for sempai's good," she told herself.  
  
"Get off me baka!" Shinobu cried aloud, knocking Su down, rather impulsively.  
  
Su sat back, eyes unbelieving that the person sitting in front of her was her dear, shy friend, Shinobu. Tears accumulated behind the eyes of the Indian girl, who seldom did cry. Slowly, she turned her head down and away, and walked away.  
  
"Look what you did! You made Su cry!" Kitsune scolded in her adult voice, and she ran after Su.  
  
Slowly, Motoko followed Kitsune, and then followed by Naru, who tugged Keitaro along with her. Keitaro, turned his back to look at Shinobu, as he walked over to the exit with Naru. Right then, he saw Shinobu crying on Yukiro's shoulder, with Yukiro soothing her by patting her back.  
  
"What's going on?" Keitaro thought as he continued to walk.  
  
All the girls were disappointed when the retired back to the Inn. They were looking forward to a celebration party for their friend's return. However, no one would have ever guessed that it would turn out like this...........  
  
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I'm really sorry if this was a short chapter and that I had many grammar mistakes in is because it's really late and I really need to get to sleep now. Please don't be discouraged since I'm updating this chapter now because I want to update the next chapter of Spring's Gift on the weekends. You'll find a follow-up chapter to Spring's Gift very soon! Please leave a review to support this fic! Many thanks! 


	11. Back at Hinatasou: Confessions?

Hi everyone! I'm VERY sorry for the late update. I had so much homework in school....And I'm very VERY sorry about the earlier promise as well. I couldn't make it to write another chapter. So many tests! It's nothing surprising considering it's nearing term end for me......and that means that I would have more time to update my fics now! Three Cheers for me! Haha. Well anyways, Please continue to support this fic! The story will bring to an end soon enough.  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Eleven: Back at Hinatasou: Confessions?  
  
It was soon late in the afternoon and everyone had already returned to the awkwardly silent Hinatasou, which was rarely quiet for even one day! Shinobu went into her room and unpacked her belongings with Yukiro helping her. After that, Keitaro decided that it would be best for Yukiro to bunk with him, so Yukiro brought his luggage over to the kanrinrin's room and unpacked there. Shinobu, expressing unusual boldness, offered to help Yukiro in his unpacking. After all the unpacking was finished, the tenants waited patiently for Shinobu to offer cooking lunch for them.  
  
"Why are you guys all sitting here and staring at me like that?" Shinobu intoned in the coldest voice possible, eyes darting from one resident to another whom were all sitting on couches, arms across chest, waiting for Shinobu to cook.  
  
"Why aren't you going to cook for us?" Kitsune asked, her hunger doing the speaking,  
  
"Why, can you not cook for yourself?" Shinobu shot back, putting on a sarcastic look, angry at how everyone was being so oblivious of her feelings. After having that said, Shinobu told the others that she would be going out to eat with Yukiro and instructed them to go toil for their own meals.  
  
The residents stared dumbly at the empty door, which Shinobu and Yukiro had just very rashly ran out, hands held together, and thought what might have happened to their dear friend. What was going on?! What was happening to Shinobu?!  
  
"So....." Kitsune said quietly under her breath, breaking the awkward silence filling the room, "What about lunch?"  
  
"Kitsune! How could you think of such things when we still don't know what's wrong with Shinobu?!" Naru exclaimed, her arms creating gestures in the air.  
  
"But I'm hungry too!!!" Su screamed, her voice shrilled and scratchy. Su was the type of person whose hunger spoke before her brains. She did not care about what others thought of her; all that mattered was that she is contented.  
  
Later on that day, the tenants managed to fix themselves a quick lunch by going to a nearby fast foods restaurant, and ordering themselves servings of cold noodles. Everyone nibbled joyfully at their noodles, but however, Keitaro and Naru were still very worried and concerned of Shinobu. They didn't know the reason of Shinobu's sudden change of attitude and behavior, but among all the possible solutions to this, they knew that their relationship had something to do with it. Soon after lunch was finished, the satisfied tenants retired back to Hinatasou and rested there with stomachs full of noodles delight.  
  
It was soon getting late, the sky darkened, and layers of cloud started to drift above the city, shadowing it from the setting sun, and yet, Shinobu had still not returned to Hinatasou with Yukiro. People were growing worried; and stomachs were again, subtly growing hungry. The residents were soon wondering if their friend would come back in time to cook them dinner. Su's usual enthusiasm became less active and even Kitsune started thinking about food instead of sake.  
  
Naru saw her friends all growing hungry and yet Shinobu had not called to tell the others if she would be attending dinner or not, so she decided to make dinner for her friends anyways. "I'll go make dinner, so you guys won't starve," Naru announced, followed by all-out cheering and whistles, mostly from Su and Kitsune. Naru gave a little playful sigh and headed to the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, it looks like we're almost out of stock here...."Naru told her friends, in which they answered with loud groans of irritation.  
  
"Okay, ummm....Keitaro, would you mind to help buy us some fish?" Naru asked Keitaro who was standing in the kitchen with her.  
  
"Hai," Keitaro said. "Don't worry you guys, dinner would be served very soon!" he reassured them, turning to leave.  
  
After putting his orange large coat on, Keitaro ran out the door, heading to the supermarket. Inside the supermarket, he found himself surrounded by endless aisles of food items, and could at that instant, feel Shinobu's pain of grocery shopping. Keitaro heaved a sigh and strode along the marketplace, trying to find himself a sales person who would be willing and available to tell him where the fishes were. Unfortunately, it was during grocery-shopping time of the day, and many salespeople were already too busy with entertaining other customers to even notice the desperate Keitaro, who knew that if he did not return back to Hinatsou with a filling supply of fresh fish that he'd be beaten up by his violent tenant friends. In the end, after hours of browsing through aisles and realizing that large signs, which hung about the market, indicate item locations, Keitaro finally found himself five pounds of fresh cod. After waiting in the snaking line-up, Keitaro finally managed to buy himself his friends' dinner. Hurriedly, he rushed out the market door and into the bustling streets. He ran and he ran, and when something familiar caught his attention at the corner of his left eye, he turned his head slightly in that direction, and looked to see, finding Shinobu sitting in a table in an outdoors restaurant, talking to Yukiro. Keitaro gave a halt, and when he stared harder to try seeing what was going on, he saw that Shinobu's eyes were red with tears. Not knowing what Yukiro might have done to Shinobu, Keitaro quietly crept slowly behind them to listen in to their conversation. Keitaro crept quietly behind a bush beside the couple and eavesdropped.  
  
"Why are you doing this?!" Keitaro heard Yukiro scream at Shinobu.  
  
"Gomenasai," Shinobu said weakly, her voice muffled by her sobs, "but I have to this for Keitaro-sempai and Naru-sempai."  
  
Keitaro became alarmed by the mentioning of his and Naru's names.  
  
"You know that boy doesn't like you Shinobu," Yukiro's voice sounded, his tone softening.  
  
"Yes I understand," Shinobu said, "I know sempai doesn't like me....but I....but I....I like sempai! And it's all because of me that their relationship is faltered. It's all because of me! I've never brought anything but trouble to them; all I bring is trouble! I want to do something to help them, do you understand? I want to make sempai happy! Sempai likes Naru- san, and I want to make him happy by letting him be with Naru-san!"  
  
"Shinobu-chan...."Yukiro said softly.  
  
"You don't understand Yukiro, but I---"Shinobu began.  
  
"But I do understand Shinobu," Yukiro cut in, "I....I....I like you too....." Yukiro looked down to hide his blush as he had finally brought up all his courage to confess to Shinobu.  
  
Alarmed, Shinobu finally realized Yukiro's affection for her. Her mind started to whirl with thoughts, thoughts that she had never even thought about before. She knew that her situation with Keitaro was growing very complicated, but she had never thought that Yukiro had secretly admired her too! The situation was growing very complex, in fact, it's too complex for Shinobu to deal with; everything seems out of her control now.  
  
"Yukiro......" Shinobu said timidly, "but you know I......you know I like Keitaro. Why are you wasting your time on me?! And helping me get sempai and Naru- san together?"  
  
"It's the same reason why you're getting Keitaro and Naru together Shinobu! If you can sacrifice your own love for your beloved's happiness, then why can't I do the same for you? Shinobu! I love you too! Why should you be allowed to take up all the pain?! And I'm not?!" Yukiro practically blurted out the words, which he had been suppressing in his heart during all that time.  
  
After that said, the two of them just sat there, sipping at their drinks, silently; neither one speaking to the other, and Keitaro too was stunned by the two's love confessions. Shinobu had loved him so dearly! What was he going to do?! She had even sacrificed her own happiness and ruined her own reputation just for him and Naru to be together! And yet, Naru still hasn't told him anything about how she felt about their relationship, if they even had one that is! How was he going to choose.?! All these thoughts nibbled at Keitaro painfully and his trance was broken when he remembered that he still needed to deliver the fish back to Naru before she has a fist against him and again, send him into the sky. Keitaro hurriedly ran back to Hinatasou and after an hour of pleading, Naru agreed to not punch him and instead, she began working with the cod that Keitaro had just brought back, thinking of what dishes to could make out of them.  
  
After dinner was finished, and that dishes were washed, the tenants went back into their rooms to past the remaining hours of the night to themselves in solitude. Kitsune went to her room to admire her newly collected collection of sake; Su went to her jungle-like room to finish up on her latest invention of her new and advanced Mecha Tama 2000; Motoko went up to the porch to practice some of her fighting techniques; and Naru returned to her studying. Keitaro, on the other hand, was still thinking of what happened that day, his mind reviewing his thoughts. Just when Keitaro was in the middle of his thoughts, noises of Shinobu and Yukiro returning to Hinatsou interrupted him and got him rather nervous.  
  
"Arigatou," Shinobu thanked Yukiro, returning to her normal, polite self once again in front of Yukiro as she thanked Yukiro for the lovely dinner they had just have.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," Yukiro said, his voice concealing a tone of disappointment and his face reddening with heat due to embarrassment. "I'll go to sleep now Shinobu....umm.....good night......"  
  
"Good night Yukiro-san," Shinobu answered softly.  
  
Just then, remembering that Yukiro was sharing the same room with him, Keitaro quickly raced out and hid himself behind the large bonsai tree in case the two catches him eavesdropping in their business.  
  
Keitaro could hear the sound of his bedroom door sliding shut as he listened attentively, knowing that Yukiro had returned to sleep. On the other hand, he watched closely as he saw Shinobu retiring to her room. Just then, due to an urge of impulse, Keitaro decided to confront Shinobu and to talk to her about his feelings.  
  
"Shinobu-chan!" Keitaro called out in a loud whisper, beckoning Shinobu to come to him with his finger.  
  
Shinobu stopped in the middle of her action of opening her door, thought for a while, and then closed the gap that she had just opened. Her curiosity had decided for her to go and see what Keitaro was asking her for. Shinobu walked slowly towards Keitaro, her gaze fixed upon his eyes the entire time.  
  
"Shinobu-chan, I have something very important to tell you," Keitaro said, his head turning away from her gaze.  
  
Shinobu stopped for a minute and then said, "Okay."  
  
"Let's go to the swings outside, it'll give us some peace and quiet and we won't disturb the others," Keitaro offered.  
  
"Yes..."Shinobu replied, feeling more belittled by each answer she gave Keitaro. How could she say no?  
  
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Okay, that's it for now, I'm tired hehe. Plz give me ur comments in reviews and I'll most gratefully answer any questions u hav if you don't get wut's going on. Thanku for reading!  
  
Next chapter: Keitaro is going to tell Shinobu the truth. Who would Keitaro choose? Naru or Shinobu? Read on to find out! 


	12. Keitaro’s Decision Keitaro’s Lie

Okay, here's the next chapter! Thank you all for your ongoing support! Seeing all you people reviewing makes me want to cry T_T hehe Please continue reviewing! The more reviews I get, the faster I write and update a new chapter! Arigatou!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Twelve: Keitaro's Decision/Keitaro's Lie  
  
Silently, Keitaro led Shinobu out into the little playground where he had first made his promise of going to Toudai with the girl from fifteen years ago. The now-rusty swings creak to the slight current of the winds. The sky had already darkened to deep purplish velvet with diamonds scattered upon this gigantic, never-ending cloth. A few owls on faraway trees hooted away the night. Shinobu shivered to the icy breeze that brushed past her left arm. Although walking a reasonable distance away from Keitaro, she could still feel genuine warmth coming from him. Shinobu longed to hold his hand, and feel his warmth travel through her to help kill the cold. Shinobu gave a light sigh, knowing that that day wouldn't come true. Curiosity overcame her as she saw Keitaro stopped suddenly and turned to face her.  
  
"Shinobu-chan, I have something to talk to you about. Do you want to sit there on the swings?" Keitaro offered, his finger pointing to the inviting swings on the playground.  
  
"Okay," Shinobu said timidly, forgetting all about being cocky and rude.  
  
As the duo finally found themselves comfortably sitting on a swing, Keitaro began, "Shinobu-chan..."  
  
Suddenly remembering to renew her cockiness, Shinobu quickly interrupted, "I know what you're trying to say Urashima. So what if I changed a bit here and there after my break?! Big deal! After seeing life away from this crappy place, I learned what life should really be! I've been wasting my time here all along! I must have been out of my brains!"  
  
Shinobu stopped short as she felt Keitaro's hand grasped onto hers. She gasped. Sempai has never held her hand before!!!  
  
Keitaro had needed to stop Shinobu from talking that way. He knew she was just acting out of character for his sake. It pained him to think what pain he had caused poor Shinobu.  
  
"Shinobu-chan..." Keitaro said, determined to continue what he was going to say before Shinobu had interrupted him. This time Shinobu was silent. She was still shocked from Keitaro's previous sudden gesture. She turned her head to look Keitaro in the eye, where their eyes caught each other's immediately.  
  
"I know you like me Shinobu," Keitaro admitted his knowing of the truth all along, "and I know you've been acting all strange and different lately because of me. You want me and Naru to be together, so you tried to make me get annoyed of you and forget about your earlier confession."  
  
Shinobu gasped, and then turned her head down, as if in shame, but was really just trying to hide her tears from Keitaro's sight. Keitaro saw this and quickly tilted Shinobu's head back up with his fingers tilting her chin. He tentatively brushed away the two streams of tears Shinobu had just shed out, and again looked serious, "I'm sorry."  
  
This time, the words were too overwhelming for Shinobu to take in as she collapsed into his chest crying and sobbing, letting out all the grief she had been confining all that time. Keitaro understandingly patted Shinobu's back with sympathy.  
  
"I love you Shinobu," Keitaro said continuing to stroke Shinobu's back.  
  
Shocked by the words she never would have thought come from Keitaro's mouth, Shinobu stared up at him with eyes wide, still wet with tears.  
  
"But you got to understand something Shinobu," Keitaro continued as he held onto Shinobu's head, looking deeply into her eyes as if he was going to bore holes through them, "The love between friends is not the same as the love between girlfriends and boyfriends. I love you only as a friend"  
  
Shinobu winced and looked away, grief washing over her once again. She hated the feeling of getting something but then losing it all over once again. She hated Keitaro for doing this to her, but deep down she knew he hadn't meant to hurt her.  
  
"I understand," Shinobu muttered quietly half to herself, "but can you tell me something?"  
  
Keitaro silently agreed as he nodded his head.  
  
"Do you love Naru-sempai then?" Shinobu asked, showing boldness, eager to know the truth so she wouldn't go blindly loving a man who didn't love her as a soul mate, but only as a friend.  
  
Keitaro fidgeted and moved uneasily on his swing, finally giving Shinobu an unsatisfying answer, "I don't know..."  
  
Shinobu got to her feet, angry with this coward for not confessing his love for the one he truly loved.  
  
Surprised when Shinobu suddenly stood up Keitaro quickly explained, "The thing is, I don't know if Naru likes me or not. I, myself, am not entire sure of my love for her either. It seems to me as if she's trying to avoid acknowledging our relationship. I really can't say anything right now. I guess I'm still not ready to love someone right now..."  
  
After hearing Keitaro explain, Shinobu lessened her fury and returned back to her original state. The answer Keitaro had given her was rather satisfying and pleasing. It was true that they were not ready to make any commitment and engagement yet. Tired from the day's war of emotions, Shinobu felt tired and exhausted. She had shed too many tears that her eyes were swollen and her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. She could barely keep her eyes open. Keitaro saw this and suggested for them to go back to the inn and call it a night. Shinobu was happy to welcome this suggestion as she agreed and walked slowly back into the inn with Keitaro walking beside her. Following behind the two, light footsteps sounded in the quiet playground as a tall figure advanced towards them. A quick flash of light appeared amidst the darkness as moonlight bounced off some sort of long metal object which resembled an awful lot like a katana, Motoko's katana! The tall figure that had listened to Shinobu and Keitaro's confession all along was Motoko! It had turned out that Motoko had heard suspicious noises outside the Hinatasou building, and thinking it might be demons or pranksters looking for trouble, she had decided to go out and check up on things to make sure everything was alright. However to her surprise, she found Keitaro and Shinobu in the middle of one hot conversation. After hearing Keitaro's words, Motoko wasn't sure herself if she should confess to him as well. She saw how brave Shinobu was to confess to someone whom she already knew prior to her confession, that he would reject her, but still she had gathered up all her courage and confessed her feelings. Motoko thought to herself for a long while. She knew her situation was different than Shinobu's. Shinobu knew she liked Keitaro, but Motoko wasn't sure about her feelings for Keitaro. She couldn't decide whether kendo or Keitaro was more important. Annoyed and frustrated at the thought, Motoko let out a groan and she too retired back to the inn. She too would leave everything to the next day.  
  
The next day...  
  
"What should we do after breakfast?!" Su exclaimed, her arms flying into the air once again. She was extremely hyper that day, knowing that her dear friend had returned back to her normal self. Shinobu had once again cooked them a wonderful meal. None of the residents questioned Shinobu why she had acted so strangely before, but were only more than happy to find their old friend back once again. Shinobu had specially made them a better meal to make up for how she had treated her dear friends. She was glad to see herself successfully bribing her friends through her cooking. Shinobu silently thanked god for bestowing stomachs to humans.  
  
Keitaro rose to his feet after finishing his breakfast and said, "Naru, umm.....can I have a word with you outside?"  
  
Naru was a bit surprised at Keitaro's words but dumbly agreed, nodding her head. Keitaro beamed slightly, but Naru's face on the other hand was growing hotter and pinker by the minute.  
  
"Why are you blushing like Naru?" Su asked Shinobu in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.  
  
Shinobu felt embarrassed and quickly explained, "I just ate something very spicy!", shooting Su a menacing glare. Su, however missed Shinobu's wordless warning, and walked away. After Naru had too finished her breakfast, Keitaro quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her outside.  
  
"OH! Look ! The love birds are going away secretly to get married!" Kitsune cried aloud, already drunk in the morning.  
  
"They are not, and Kitsune, don't drink sake in the morning again," Motoko said in a monotonous voice.  
  
"Hey come on! Let's go peek at what they're doing!" Kitsune exclaimed as she dragged Shinobu with her. She needn't drag Su since she was already ready for some spying business with her spying equipment already set and in handy. The three quickly rushed out of the inn with Su controlling a mecha tama through her controller, and Kitsune dragging poor Shinobu, who's wailing and screaming, out behind her. Motoko, paying no interest to what they were doing, turned her back and decided to practice her skills instead.  
  
"Hey look! They're over there," Kitsune cried as she covered Shinobu's mouth with her hand, and instructed them all to crouch down and hide behind a bush. From where they were hiding, they could see but not hear clearly what Keitaro and Naru were saying to each other. When finally letting go of Shinobu's mouth so she wouldn't suffocate, Kitsune applied a finger over her mouth and told the others to keep quiet, "Shhhhh....."  
  
Shinobu, after regaining her regular breathing rhythm, poked her head to see where they were, and found Keitaro talking to Naru. They were sitting quietly together on a bench that overlooked breath-taking scenery.  
  
"I have something to give you..." the three barely heard Keitaro said as he reached into his coat pocket to dig out whatever he was digging for to give Naru.  
  
The three gasped as they saw what Keitaro had taken out. It was a ring box.  
  
Keitaro presented the box to Naru's view and cautiously opened the seemingly sacred box for Naru to see what treasure it beheld.  
  
Naru too gasped. "This is...this is...this is the ring you tried giving me earlier!"  
  
Keitaro nodded, "I want to know how you feel about me. Would you take this ring?"  
  
Naru looked at the ring and thought for a long while, her hand left suspended in mid-air as she thought to herself whether to accept it.  
  
She knew the ring didn't mean marriage; it only meant confessing one's love to another. Naru looked at the ring for a longer while. The three who were hiding behind the bush waited impatiently as they waited for Naru to answer. The time was simply torturing, especially to Keitaro.  
  
Naru continued thinking. She remembered how Keitaro had cared for her while she was sick and how deep down, there was a burning passion in her that told her to be together with him. The two had fulfilled their promise of making to Toudai together, but something was still bothering Naru. Could it be she was still unsure of their future? The thing was she was still scared. She didn't know how her relationship with Keitaro would work out if she accepted the ring. However in the end, after a long struggle, she finally gave in to her heart instead of her brain, and accepted the ring. Keitaro beamed brightly. He had never felt this happy in his life. He had never thought Naru would accept his ring, which symbolized his love for her. Quickly Keitaro took the ring from its case and placed it onto Naru's finger, making a perfect fit. Naru smiled as she looked down at the ring. Then, out of Keitaro's surprise, Naru reached over, curled her arms behind his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his cheeks.  
  
"Woot! They confessed! They kissed! They're getting married!" Kitsune exclaimed, alcohol still in its effect.  
  
Su snickered, but Shinobu was not feeling the same way her friends were. Anger burned in her. Her eyes welled with tears. Keitaro had lied to her! He had simply told her a lie to make her not like him! He had said that he was not ready for making any commitment yet and now he's there, proposing to Naru! Shinobu jumped to her feet, and quickly ran away, wiping away the continuous streams of tears that were running down her face.  
  
"Shinobu!" both Su and Kitsune cried out.  
  
Keitaro and Naru heard this and turned their heads in the direction of the loud voices that had just called out Shinobu's name, sighting Shinobu running away and wiping tears away from her face. Keitaro gasped. There must have been a misunderstanding! Shinobu must have thought he was proposing to Naru and that he had lied to her about not being ready to make any commitments!!!  
  
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Arghhhhh.....long chapter! So tired! Hope you guys liked it! I know some of you might hate me now for what I've done to Shinobu! VERY VERY SORRY. But you see, I still have 3 volumes: Summer's Gift, Autumn's Gift, and Winter's Gift to go. There's still plenty of time left! Don't lose hopes! The story still goes on! Please give me your feedbacks in REVIEWS! I'll try my best to round up the ending as soon as possible, taking your comments into consideration, so what are you waiting for?! Go on! Leave a REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! 


	13. Excuses Excuses!

*eyes welling with tears* I'm SOO grateful for your support! Luv ya all so much!!! THANKU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS!!! I've never gotten that many for one chapter!!!!You guys are the VERY BEST!!!!!Here comes the next chapter of Spring's Gift! Please pour your hearts into reading this one just the same!  
  
Spring's Gift  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Excuses Excuses!!!  
  
"Oh god!" Keitaro mindlessly repeated as he saw Shinobu running away from his sight. Seeing Shinobu's eyes tear made his heart ache with pain, guilt and care visibly illustrated on his face. He had never meant to hurt Shinobu!!! How was he going to explain himself now?! He had already broken her heart when he told her he only loved her as a friend....and there he goes again, breaking her heart one more time for lying.  
  
"What should we do now Keitaro?" Naru whispered, her eyes watching Keitaro's astonished visage. Keitaro cringed as he contemplated the consequences, which might occur, and without even announcing what he was going to do next to anyone, he hurriedly dash to the direction in which Shinobu had just rashly left.  
  
Eyeing her friend mischievously, Kitsune humorously joked, "Your heart's aching eh? Why don't you go chase after your boyfriend?" giving Naru a few elbows.  
  
Naru's face burned with embarrassment as two patches of red slowly made themselves visible on her pale face. "I'm NOT..." Naru began, but stopping midway in her sentence, realizing that she was indeed Keitaro's GIRLFRIEND...she had accepted his ring! Hadn't she?  
  
"Never mind..." Naru bluntly replied in a quiet voice, heaving a sigh. "You guys can continue your spying game if you want...but I'm going if you don't mind." Slowly she made her way back to Hinatasou, leaving her two gossipy friends staring agape at her retreating figure.  
  
"So you still up for spying business?" Kitsune asked Su.  
  
"Ummm.....no...I'd rather have a banana buffet...All this spying business is making me hungry!"  
  
"Count me in!" Kitsune said, pulling a yawn, "I want SAKE!"  
  
All happy again, the two joyous tenants of Hinatasou made way to their daytime partying.  
  
Meanwhile.......  
  
*********  
  
Shinobu kept on running, her heart pounding fast against her chest. However, the pain accumulated from her intensive running was no match to how painful her heart had felt when she saw sempai propose to Naru. It had felt as if she was drowning, drowning deeper and deeper in the unforgiving seas. She couldn't believe that she had actually fallen for someone who had been lying to her the entire time. All those excuses he had made about not being ready...all those lies....He could have just told her that he didn't like her! At least that wouldn't have pained as much as having someone you loved so dearly lie to you. She felt betrayed; she felt dirty; she felt cheated.  
  
Her legs were beginning to tire out, draining all the energy from her with every step ran. Her vision blurred as the sun caused light to deflect at abnormal angles, producing vague images. Pictures of Keitaro proposing to Naru redisplayed themselves before Shinobu's tear-filled eyes as she continued on running. She wanted to collapse on the floor she was running on at the moment, but voices of Keitaro calling out for her pursued her from behind, urging her to run faster and farther. She didn't want to talk to the selfish man. Finally, time wore her endurance, and her pace slowed. Keitaro, being highly determined to catch up with Shinobu, finally caught up to her and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her to a halt.  
  
"Let go of me!" Shinobu cried out, unknown emotions falling over her like a wave.  
  
Startled by Shinobu's sudden emotion eruption, Keitaro took a step back, hands still grasped tightly against Shinobu's wrist though.  
  
"Shinobu-chan, we got to talk! Look, I think there was a misunderstanding ...I wasn't..." Keitaro tried explaining, tears slithering down his head due to exhaustion from running.  
  
Bearing distaste to the familiar timbre of Keitaro's voice, Shinobu quickly cut in, "I don't want to hear about your excuses anymore!" After having that said, she continued wriggling out of Keitaro's grip, struggling pulling Keitaro's strong grip away from her petite hands.  
  
"I'M NOT GOING TO GET MARRIED WITH NARU!!!" Keitaro practically screamed out from the top of his lungs. Shinobu had been making success at her escape and he was loosing his grip; he needed to tell her everything but she wasn't going to give him the chance so he decided to let everything out at once, like a volcano erupting.  
  
Suddenly Shinobu stopped wiggling and struggling. She simply stopped there amidst her struggle, her head looking down, and bangs of hair covering her face. A sudden burst of exhaustion broke, and she felt tired all over the body. Her knees felt like gelatin and she could barely keep her eyes open. All the running and emotion outbursts had exhausted her incredibly. Not for long, Shinobu had collapsed into Keitaro's arms.  
  
"WAH?! Shinobu!!!" Keitaro called out, shaking her slightly to help her regain consciousness.  
  
A few groans and grumbles escaped Shinobu's pressed lips, but very soon, she was unconscious. Keitaro tried patting her on the face, but it was of no avail. Desperate and uncertain of what to do, Keitaro decided to bring Shinobu back to Hinatasou where Motoko could tend to her (although he may have to endure some of her attacks as punishment for bringing Shinobu back like this).  
  
When he got back to Hinatasou, to his surprise, Motoko did not direct a hiken technique, which would normally send him out into orbit. Motoko was acting not like herself. When she saw Shinobu's unconscious state, she plainly told Keitaro to place her onto the futon in her room for her to check on and that made Keitaro feel worried. Keitaro began to wonder if his little incident with Motoko would have to be acknowledged. Nevertheless, he dismissed this problem, and decided to focus his attention on Shinobu first.  
  
Naru had too acted a little awkward when she saw Shinobu's unconscious state. She didn't rage with anger, nor did she direct one of her famed Naru punches. It was almost as if she was trying to avoid Keitaro. She tried moving her glances from him, not looking in his direction; she did not talk to him; and often, she ignored his presence.  
  
Keitaro was getting to be in a heck lot of trouble...before he had too many relationships....now he's going to have no relationships......How come things never worked out the right way?!!! All he had ever wanted was to have one girlfriend....nothing more...nothing less....is this too much to ask for?! How could fate be so cruel?!  
  
"Shinobu has exhausted herself and fainted. She needs rest and people to tend to her with tender hospitality. She shouldn't eat anything at this moment yet, but she still needs her nutrients to regain strength, so I recommend for her to eat liquid foods," Motoko had told everyone after she tended to Shinobu. Everyone was relieved to hear that their friend would be okay in a short while after a little rest. Naru and the others went down to the kitchen to fix Shinobu some congee while Motoko decided to create an herbal solution for Shinobu to drink to speed up her healing. Keitaro and Yukiro on the other hand decided to stay by Shinobu's side in case she needs something.  
  
"Keitaro?" Yukiro began, disrupting the deadly silence in the room. Keitaro had felt awkward being in that room with Yukiro's presence. He would always sense him looking his way but would not dare to look in his direction in case he WAS staring.  
  
"Hai..."Keitaro answered, finally looking up. Surprised, he found that Yukiro wasn't actually looking at him at that moment but instead, at the sleeping Shinobu. Keitaro found himself captivated by Yukiro's eyes. They were the color of burning amber, fires of passion flaring behind void glass. When Yukiro finally looked up to meet his eyes, Keitaro felt Yukiro's sharp eyes pierce through him, frightening him a bit. They had changed from eyes burning with concern to eyes raging with anger. Realization finally struck him when he remembered that Yukiro secretly liked Shinobu.  
  
"Do you like Shinobu-chan?" Yukiro questioned, his voice a bit muffled. "Uh...of course I like Shinobu-chan, "Keitaro said, "I like her as a friend..."  
  
"I don't mean that!" Yukiro practically screamed out, frustrated, "I mean do you love her as a girlfriend?"  
  
"Of course not!" Keitaro exclaimed, waving his arms in protest.  
  
"What did you do to Shinobu-chan then?" Yukiro questioned, his chest heaving from his yelling.  
  
"I don't know....I think there must have been some sort of misunderstanding" Keitaro explained.  
  
"What kind of misunderstanding is there?" Yukiro persisted in his inquiring.  
  
"Please STOP!!!" a sudden, shrill yet soft voice bellowed.  
  
Both men turned in the direction of the voice that just spoke and found Shinobu sitting on top of her futon. She had stirred in her sleep when the two men were having their excited argument. Both blinded by anger and frustration, they had forgotten to keep their voices down, and had subtly waked Shinobu up without their knowing. Poor Shinobu...she heard the entire conversation!!!  
  
Tears were streaming down her face. Yukiro tried consoling her by getting a little closer but Shinobu shoved him aback.  
  
"Go away!" Shinobu cried, "I don't want to see or hear from any of you!" With that having said, she promptly buried herself into her futon. Little sniffs and weeps could be heard coming from inside the futon and the little bundle was rising up and down, acknowledging the fact that Shinobu was secretly crying away her pain.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, inside the Hinata kitchen, Su and Kitsune were busy determining what to put in the congee....  
  
"Bananas!!! Bananas are sweet and soft and are just SOOOOOOO good!!!" Su exclaimed, jumping up and down.  
  
"I think we should add a little sake to the congee...I mean, it's tasteless without a zing of alcohol, isn't it?  
  
"It should be something good for Shinobu's health," Motoko said sternly.  
  
"Well alcohol speeds up your circulation right? So that's good for your health!" Kitsune exclaimed. "Yea! Yea! And I think bananas are good for people who are consti....consti...what's that word again?"  
  
"You mean constipated?" Naru said bluntly.  
  
"Yea! That's it!" Su piped up with joy.  
  
After moments of negotiating on whether they should put bananas or sake into the congee, the two finally reached consensus by "putting banana flavored sake" into the congee. Naru and Motoko both simply rolled their heads and continued on their work. After Kitsune and Su left the kitchen to leave the work for the rest of the other two girls to do, Motoko and Naru began to work in silence.  
  
"Could u pass me the soy sauce?" Naru asked.  
  
"Yes," Motoko answered and handed her a bottle subconsciously while she continued chopping her veggies.  
  
When Naru looked at the bottle, which Motoko handed to her, she said, "Ummm...Motoko?"  
  
"Yes? Naru-sempai?" Motoko turned in Naru's direction, wondering what Naru had to say to her.  
  
"Are you feeling okay?" Naru asked, her expression showing concern.  
  
"What made you ask that?" Motoko wondered aloud.  
  
"Well it's just that you haven't been acting like yourself recently..."  
  
"How so?" Motoko asked, wanting to know what had caused Naru to think that way.  
  
"Take a look at this," Naru said, holding up the bottle of detergent Motoko had previously handed to her.  
  
Motoko's eyes widened with surprise, "I thought I gave you soy sauce?! How come it turned into this liquid detergent?"  
  
"It was this way when you handed it to me," Naru replied, "And it's not just that...you've been acting not like yourself lately. You seem to be talking less, and your expressions are even colder than before..."  
  
Motoko turned her body around and looked down. "Naru-sempai has noticed it" she thought.  
  
Seeing Motoko like this Naru spoke out, "Please tell me what is the matter Motoko-chan!"  
  
"Naru-sempai, can you answer a question for me?" Motoko asked, turning back to face Naru.  
  
"Yes, of course, "Naru answered.  
  
"You and Keitaro..."Motoko began.  
  
"Yes I know what you're going to ask me," Naru cut in, "You're going to ask me if I like Keitaro are not....I don't understand why so many people want to know this?!" Naru threw her hands into the air, a little frustrated herself.  
  
"No...No....It's not this," Motoko reassured her.  
  
Naru looked at Motoko surprised, "It isn't...?"  
  
"Yes, what I want to know is WHY you like Keitaro and how you knew you liked him" Motoko bellowed.  
  
*********  
  
Okay that's it for chapter 13. Plz give me your support in reviews !!! PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE!! I was VERY happy last time becuz of your enthusiastic comments. I know it may seem that I'm stalling with the end of this story, but I assure you, it's nearing the end! *sobs and tears* yes I know...it's the end,.....but hey! There's the next book coming up right after this one!!! SUMMER'S GIFT!!!! Hehehe...Okay, no more bs from me...now go on! Press that little blue button down on the page!!! You know you wanna!  
  
PS I'm sorry, I didn't have time to check over the spelling and grammar! GOMEN!!!!! 


	14. A State of Frustration

Okay, I know that it's been long since I updated and I'm very sorry everyone! ! sighs I hope you will all enjoy this chapter!

**Spring's Gift**

**Chapter Fourteen: A State of Frustration**

Naru looked at Motoko as if she was stranger to her. Was this -THE-Motoko who had always looked upon love as a childish issue? Was this -THE-Motoko who could care less about what love means? O dear, it was…

Naru was surprised beyond realm of comprehension. She gawked at Motoko and slowly opened her mouth slightly, choking her response out in disoriented phrases as she began, "What?…love?…I…err…I don't….know….Is there even a definition for love?"

Motoko stared at Naru and replied in a monotonous tone of voice, "I do not know…"

She wasn't expecting Naru to be questioning HER when she was the one who posed the question. I mean, if she knew, would she be asking her then?!

"Well," Naru said as she took a seat on one of the chairs, "I don't really know how to explain it. Love is ….such a strange concept. It can be considered as a passion or it can be considered as a type of compassion. It's an affection that you have for someone whom you feel attracted to. You would care for this person and would think about him or her before you think about yourself. It's all about selflessness."

"Oh…"Motoko said, trying to register what Naru had told her, "Then, how do you know when you're in love?"

Naru blushed at this and fidgeted a bit in her chair. "Hmm…I think that when you're in love, your heart will be your first indicator. It will pick up pace, beating faster and harder, and you will find yourself somehow almost magically drawn to that person. You will notice reactions that you display without your own knowing. It's mystifying, really.

Motoko thought about what Naru had just told her. She wondered if what she had felt for Keitaro was what one would call "love". Was it really love? Or was it just ummm….I don't know….interest maybe? For the while during Keitaro's being at Hinatasou, Motoko had felt some sort of feelings towards him, but she didn't know what it was. Her heart did beat a bit faster when he was near her…but what does that mean? And she sometimes blushed too when Keitaro makes his clumsy mistakes around her…and she actually cared for him, a bit…just a little bit…but what do all these things mean? Did she "loved" him? Oh she didn't know! It was just too confusing!

"I think I need to get away for some time, Naru…do you mind looking after Shinobu while I'm gone?" Motoko asked.

"Sure."

With that said, Motoko went to her room and gathered her bokken and left, making her way to her favorite training spot.

Meanwhile, back at Shinobu's room…(or should I say outside Shinobu's room, anyhow….)

"Look what you'd done to Shinobu!" Yukiro whispered loudly to Keitaro, pointing his finger in a menacing way that suggested that he were to take full blame for them being kicked out by Shinobu.

Keitaro just ignored his comment and knelt slowly down beside Shinobu's room.

Yukiro saw Keitaro's oblivion and cringed. It was strange how this guy didn't seem to talk back to him, like most other guys would. He wasn't sure if he really did understand this person. In the end, he decided to keep his quiet and just lean against the wall while Keitaro still seemed to be lost in his thoughts while crouching down.

"Where's Motoko?" Kitsune question as she sneaked into the kitchen for a snack, her movements like a fox's.

"Oh, she picked up her training supplies and headed out for some time a lone; I'm assuming that she's going to train," Naru replied as she slapped Kitsune's hand that was meanwhile reaching for a cookie while Naru was talking.

"Jeez, Naru, you're so mean! I'm going to go find Motoko and have her treat me to some sake and grub!" Kitsune declared as she made her way out of the inn.

Water was falling on her back, and she could feel a soft breeze against her skin. In the background, birds were chirping their usual high-pitched, what birdwatchers label as, music and here and there, a crow croaked, adding its voice to the symphony. The wind whistled a tune of its own as well and carried Motoko's hair behind her, letting them splay freely in the air. The water that fell on her back was cold like ice. These liquid spears crashed fiercely on her back, leaving no marks on her skin, only a piercing sensation of numbness on her mind. She felt her body freezing already in its attempt to withdraw from the pain; a feeling of numbness. Her body can no longer feel anymore. Her ears can no longer hear anything but the repetitive music of the chirping animals anymore. However, her mind was still thinking. She couldn't understand why her body and ears can stop feeling while her mind can't stop thinking. The atmosphere didn't soothe her senses at all! She was still as frustrated as ever. She hated it all! She hated this! Why can't there be an answer somewhere where she can get to and solve her problems!

With a thrust of her bokken, she swung violently yet carelessly at nothing in particular and started slashing at the rock cliff that she had previously been leaning against.

HIKEN ZANKUSEN!

Shards of rock pieces flew in all directions and one even made a cut on Motoko's face. When she finally stopped, her chest was heaving and her breaths came out short and ragged.

"Motoko…" Kitsune said silently, unsure of what to say, as she had seen the entire thing.

Motoko shook out of her trance and turned her head in Kitsune's direction, finding shock registered on her friend's countenance. Motoko was speechless. Kitsune had just watched her in her most disorderedly state of vexation. Not good…

* * *

Okay, that's all for now folks! Please leave a review! Thanks! I'll try to update as soon as possible k?! Ja ne! 


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